One Night Wrong
by Writer's Lullaby
Summary: Hyuuga Natsume nicknamed as The Initiator rarely made wrong in his judgement ever since he became a lawyer. Yet a decision he made this one night ended his spotless record. And he only found out about his error years later. Of which totally changed his life.
1. Hyuuga Natsume

I finally crawled out from being hiatus for so long. And my brain decided this should be the first plot to write about. **Make sure** to read the explanation section at the end of the chapter, I have some explanation to do regarding this story's journey, **read it (especially the second one)**.

Be nice, people. I welcome _honest criticism_ and _any mention of mistake is highly appreciated_. _No flame, please.  
I do not own Gakuen Alice _or _any familiar words/titles mentioned in the story._ **Words approx. ; 1900.**

 **#writer`s_l^lla8y#**

* * *

 **One Night Wrong by Writer's Lullaby**

Hyuuga Natsume nicknamed as The Initiator rarely made wrong in his judgement ever since he became a lawyer. Yet a decision he made this one night ended his spotless record. And he only found out about his error years later. Of which totally changed his life.

 **Chapter 1 : Hyuuga Natsume**

He opened the door to his luxury condominium with an easy grace after a long tiring day. The vast space on the front of his eyes was dimmed, lightly illuminated by the window thanks to the flashing lights from the busy city life outside. Natsume stepped to said window at the same time loosening the tie on his neck. Three steps away from the glass window, he next began unbuttoning his dress shirt slowly with firmness.

As he looked out the horizon, everything that happened around him for the past few days began playing on his mind as flashbacks.

Once again, he was able to win his case gloriously and as per usual; it made to the papers. All the news had mentioned about how Hyuuga Natsume, nicknamed as _The Initiator_ had again struck. When public heard he had taken another legal case, everyone knew that it was already a sure win. And to public's eye, The Initiator was never wrong, they believed that the defendant for every case he took was never wrong as he was after all; The Initiator, he took responsibility of helping the wronged to be in the right. He was known in his field to choose his customers meticulously with great care as his firm's slogan was "To Be & To Serve: The Right".

The latest case he took that that he had won was a murder case of the renowned Japanese top model, Koizumi Luna. As a criminal counsel, he had to defend for Serio Rei who was charged murder in the case. Serio, the national rock star in a top-selling records Japanese band namely KuRhoshi, was known for his maddening drumming skills had been intimately dating the model for months in an on and off relationship.

Tabloids and gossip columns were always following the news of said celeb couple as they were both big icons in the industry. The latest news was that the two had another falling out just few weeks ago after a big red carpet event both had attended but not together; the top model was seen in the arms of another rising model meanwhile the other came with his band mates. The two were never seen on speaking terms again after that and neither addressed the matter on their own, both letting their publicists control the damage they had done. Neither came out to the light telling their own two cents of the story.

Fans were shocked of the breakup but no one was too saddened as they were convinced that the two would patch up things again as they always had before. Some of them who had not supported the pairing had took it as tickets to lash out how neither stars suited each other.

No one saw the news of her death coming. Ten days after the public stunt the model pulled off; she had once again made it to the headlines but this time it was not about any of her social endeavours, or her illicit going outs with other hot stars. She had been found dead in a VIP suite of a hotel by the housekeeper. The hotel also suffered from bad press as they were known to be patronised by other high-end customers.

The workers in charge of housekeeping the room found the model dead in a pool of blood at the jacuzzi of the bathroom. The poor girl was set to fits of hysterical screaming seeing the inhumane and gory scene. Thankfully, the other two stayed sane and called management who then took action to report to the police; the model's manager and talent agency had also been contacted. Her manager had deem it necessary to inform her family of the grim news. Within hours, the case had managed to gain full footage at the hotel.

Autopsy was run to determine the cause of her death as her body was badly damaged when found. If it had not been for the hotel records saying she was the current patron of said suite, they would not be able to discern who she was. The model known for her unrivalled beauty was sporting a dislocated jaw, broken teeth and swollen body parts especially on her face. There were also cuts and red marks all over her body but the worst were at her inner thighs in where the cuts were done deep.

It simply was not the act of a human and if it was, the person was surely possessed.

The in results from the autopsy reported there was drug substance in her body and she had likely died due to being overdosed. The first shot of drug in her body was barely traced, indicating it began more than three days before her corpse was found. Before death, she was tortured and physical pain was inflicted upon her. She was also raped several times before the murderer had taken her to the jacuzzi and cut her bits by bits. As she was bleeding herself dry, drugs were injected into her again which resulted to her overdosing. She was dead twenty hours before being found by the housekeeper.

Natsume shook his head from the memory as grim set in him. "It was so inhumane." Still lost on thoughts, he sought the view his luxury condominium afforded him. It was unfortunate how he was not able to see any stars adorned up on the sky; one of the cons of living in a metropolitan city. The absence however did not hinder his thoughts wandering about the case.

Upon investigation, one and another obvious clues that had popped up led to Serio being the prime suspect of the murder. Few staffs of the hotel whose testimonies were taken, admitted to seeing Serio at the hotel during Koizumi's stay. The receptionists said the couple had registered the suite room together late at night, two days prior to the red carpet event. The next morning, the couple was seen having a heated conversation at the hotel lobby with him ending up leaving with a dangerous scowl on his face and his body seeming to be in tension.

The delivering blow that ended up with Rei being arrested was the CCTV footage that had records of yet another discussion between the love birds. Koizumi was seen crying in the video looking dishevelled, her lush body covered in a thin oversized shirt. She was telling Serio to quit playing games and that if he wanted her back, they could work it out. Serio in the video dressed in black leather was similarly frustrated. He was talking in a raised but composed voice asking what she was talking about. "I'm fucking receiving death threats here asking why I went to the red carpet with another guy, who else would it be aside of you?!" said Koizumi. Serio denied the accusation.

The footage ended with Serio consoling her and they disappeared from the edge of the camera. Mysteriously, the rest of the CCTV's footage disappeared and the hotel was heavily criticised for the lack of security. Apparently the footage was taken just five hours before Koizumi became unreachable and no one knew the whereabouts of the rock star. The autopsy result also showed that Koizumi received her first dose of drugs within ten hours of the video's footage.

Needless to say, Serio was caught in a dead end.

He was immediately arrested but since there was not enough evidence, he was allowed to bail out within hours. During his arrest, on his family and bandmates' urge, his manager tried to acquire one of the best criminal counsel there was. Through connections, he managed to get in touch with Natsume. The manager turned out to be good friends with Harada Misaki whose fiancé Andou Tsubasa was Nogi Ruka's foster brother.

Ruka being the angel he was had put in good words for them to Natsume.

In short, that was how Natsume got himself a high profile criminal case this time.

He was first reluctant to accept the case considering how it was getting a lot of media attention. He wanted to lay low as he felt he was not getting much freedom to do his work without the constant meddling of the media when he accepted few similarly high profile cases before. He was already building a good reputation when he successfully defended his clients to win before that. However, his firm's reputation really sky-rocketed along with his name after he won a case against the most notorious district attorney ever known to the Japanese; Enjouji Kuonji.

Since then, high profile cases had been finding their way to the door of his firm; consisting a lot of high-classed clients. Following the firm's slogan, Natsume had ordered his workers to filter the demanding requests with meticulous care; and the undertakings of the cases would not be approved by anyone other than him himself.

When Natsume got the call after being informed by Ruka, he did not promise to take the case immediately, he only agreed to meet Serio first to deem the case befitting of his aspiration or not.

Upon meeting Serio, Natsume was battling the urge to leave without an agreement. He was irked with Serio's devil-may-care attitude with the situation. The latter was acting as though everything would work out to his favours by the end of the day. With the way the things were progressing during their meeting, Natsume found himself surprised when he grudgingly agreed to take upon the case considering how the rock star's attitude far than ticked him off. Of course he kept his composure because it was only befitting of his career, more so when he was a criminal counsel; where he had to deal with many kinds of demanding characters.

Perhaps it was his spot-on guts that drove him to take the case because as he searched for any clues to help him in the case; one thing became clear to him. Serio was definitely not in the wrong. Unfortunately, the rock star had close to zero alibi because no one knew where he was during the time the murder happened. Although according to said person himself, he was on a five-day-four-night trip to Ine in the Kyoto Prefecture to take his mind off the world. It was understood he put on a disguise to travel by the bullet train.

"No wonder he had no alibi back then," muttered Natsume under his breath. Now shirtless, he walked to the kitchen and took a pitcher of cold water from the fridge. Using a tall glass he took from the the cabinet, he poured cold water into it and drank the water in one gulp. "But of course the idiot was stupid enough he switched off his numbers making it impossible to reach him. Then he had to go and extend the stay." By this point, Natsume realised he was grumbling about his latest impossible client. He could definitely prepare a complete list on what irked him when he was dealing the case.

The sound of his phone ringing crashed his wool-gathering.

Checking the clock hung on the wall, Natsume made a questioning look and head to his phone which was placed on the living room's table. "Who would be crazy enough to call me at almost midnight?" He reached his phone a mere seconds too late as the ringing sound went silent.

His face flashed in recognition upon seeing the caller's ID, _it was Youichi_.

 **-end of chapter-**

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This section exists solely for explanation and credits. **(ES)**

 **-** Enjouji Kuonji : Enjouji is not the ESP's real name, I made it up. it felt weird introducing him without a full name.  
 **-** Originally, what you read as a first chapter of the story was supposed to be a _smaller portion_ of the _original_ first chapter (I was only intending to do 5 chapters for this story). The length of the story got too long to my liking for the first chapter and at one point writing it today, I was simply doing word-vomit (a phrase I borrowed from a friend). So I decided to break it down into smaller parts and based on my calculation, I have wrote enough for 3 chapters. **You will not meet Mikan until chapter 4, I am warning you.  
-** I have never before write a law-related story and neither do I study law, so if you notice any awkward terms, do tell.  
 **-** And before you tell me I might've misspelt any 'z' as 's' and put too much 'u' in my words, I'm writing the Queen's English. To those who get it, thank you.  
 **-** Writing this, I actually encountered few confusions as to how long does someone stay arrested if said person is suspicious of murder etc, so I actually saved a few links for future references. I didn't share the links here but if any of you are interested. Feel free to mention in the review or PM me. ^^

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 **#writer`s_l^lla8y#**

 **Created ;** 4:30 am, 14 July 2017  
 **Finished ;** 3:57 am, 18 July 2017  
 **Updated ;** 10:54 pm, 28 July 2017 (special thanks to **Purple-Hime** :)

A penny for your thoughts? Reviews?


	2. His Girlfriends, Pt I

If you're reading this, it means ch1 caught your interest enough to stay reading (or come back for an update). So here I present you; an update! /inserts confetti emojis As I was final-editing this, my brother told me **Chester Bennington, frontman of Linkin Park** just **died** (few hours ago). So I'd like to dedicate this chapter to him. (Tho it's not Linkin Park-related)

Be nice, people. I welcome _honest, constructive criticism_ and _any mention of mistake is highly appreciated_. _No flame, please.  
I do not own Gakuen Alice _or _any familiar words/titles mentioned in the story.  
_ **Words approx. ; 2800.** (Overall approx. ; 4700)

 **#writer`s_l^lla8y#**

* * *

 **One Night Wrong by Writer's Lullaby**

Hyuuga Natsume nicknamed as The Initiator rarely made wrong in his judgement ever since he became a lawyer. Yet a decision he made this one night ended his spotless record. And he only found out about his error years later. Of which totally changed his life.

 **Chapter 2 : His Girlfriends, Pt. I**

Youichi's family had always been close to his as their fathers went way back. The death of the Hijiris, Youichi's parents in a car crash had been a huge blow not only to the boy; the Hyuugas were similarly grief-stricken. Natsume's mother, Kaoru had took it as her responsibility to take the poor boy into her family and decided to raise him as a son in the family. He was at the tender age of twelve; alone and still mourning his parents' sudden death. Natsume who was fifteen back then oddly found a kindred in him, meanwhile his younger sister Aoi, being nine years old, was simply happy to have another person around to play with. The three were basically inseparable for the younger two found content trailing after Natsume.

Suffice to say, no one definitely saw it coming when Youichi and Aoi declared they were in a relationship ten years later. It sparked a huge fight between Natsume and Youichi that lasted for a year; reconciling only when Aoi later got a miscarriage. Natsume saw how broken Youichi was to see his little sister passed out, the latter so shaken he stayed mute the whole time. Natsume decided enough was enough when Youichi did not even bother taking care of himself and began skipping his meals. Aoi woke up to a moving scene of Youichi cyring in Natsume's arms saying how worried he was for her well-being because she had been out cold for two days. He was blaming himself for not being able to take good care of the love of his life. Days after she recovered, Aoi later commented how the scene was so romantic. Both Natsume and Youichi suffered their male pride as she had fun gushing over the memory for weeks.

Natsume returned the call placing the phone to his left ear; it was soon answered after the second ring. "You do realise it's less than a quarter to midnight, do you?" The voice on the other end of the line gave a small chuckle as response. "You better have a good reason for calling me, I could be doing other important things right now." He sat down on the plush modern sofa crossing his legs and switched on the television.

"Seriously, Natsume? Doing something important in the middle of the night?"

"Hn," came his muffled response, his right hand on the remote controller trying to pick a channel for a good show to watch.

Youichi snorted on the phone, "Please, you don't mean to tell me you already have another case waiting to be solved when you've just won that Serio-Koizumi case, right?" It was subtle but Youichi had a hint of warning in his voice. The message was clear to Natsume, Youichi was reminding him not to overwork himself considering his workaholic-tendency.

Natsume sighed in response, "You guessed right. I don't have a case right now."

"That sounds just about it," Youichi answered with satisfaction. "Then why are you implying you could be doing something more important?"

Natsume finally decided on a news channel after he failed to find any good late night shows. 'It isn't that bad catching up on the latest news,' Natsume thought as his eyes transfixed to the news anchor on the screen of the television. "Nothing in particular. I just got home and I was going to read a bit before sleeping." Natsume began to relax his body drowning on the sofa's comfort.

"You just got home? That's pretty late considering you had nothing."

"Yeah, you tell me. The team insisted on going out to celebrate our winning the case. They were even more enthusiastic when the talent agency volunteered to pay."

Youichi whistled on response, "Sweet! No wonder were they eager, huh."

"Hn. So why you callin' this late? No class tomorrow?"

"Class starts late in the afternoon tomorrow, so I'm pretty much allowed to stay up. _I can afford it_." There was a hint of smugness behind Youchi's voice, apparent in the way he said his last sentence. He was rubbing in the fact that his career as a university professor was not as time-demanding as Natsume's job. Youichi worked as a psychology professor whom gave lectures in a local university at Tokyo. The same university that he taught at had actually offered a teaching job to Natsume a few couple of years ago but Natsume declined the offer as he believed he was aiming for something higher. "Anyway that matter aside, I was calling to remind you of this Saturday?"

Natsume put his right hand on the back of his head subtly caressing his soft locks, " _Saturday?_ "

"Don't tell me you forget?"

"I'm afraid yes. I guess I was too busy with the recent case. Do enlighten me." Another voice could be heard in the phone, it was feminine. 'Must be Aoi.' Seconds after, the sound of a door being closed was also heard.

"Hey, did you manage to put her to sleep?" Natsume could hear Aoi answering in the background but her voice was not loud enough for him to hear. "Oh, Natsume called back and he seems to forget we had a mini gathering this Saturday." Hearing the word 'gathering' clued Natsume in what Youichi was talking about yet it still caught him mildly surprised.

"Wait Youichi, that gathering was supposed to be this week? Isn't that two weeks from now?" Natsume asked as he interrupted the lovers' conversation on the other end of the line.

Youichi chuckled in interest upon his question. "No Natsume, it's supposed to be this week. Aoi told me to remind you." Again, Natsume heard Aoi's muffled voice talking. "Wait, Natsume. Aoi wants to talk to you." Natsume sighed in response. He knew he was in for a lecture from his sister. He massaged his back neck to ease the tension away.

The sound of a bed being rustled was heard before Aoi finally greeted him with a chirpy voice "Onii-chan! How could you forget? I've been constantly reminding you about it. I even phoned your secretary this Monday to remind you about it!"

Although he was a tad annoyed for being told off by his sister, a small smile formed on his face hearing Aoi's voice. "I honestly don't know Aoi. I guess I've been busy, especially this week; our focus was in winning after all."

"Pfft. You're making up excuses again."

"Hn."

"Oohhh you didn't just 'hn'ed me, did you?"

"Hn."

Aoi gave an exasperated groan. "Heavens! What did I ever do to have my mother give birth to such an annoying elder brother?"

"Don't talk as if you're older here. You _do_ know I was born years earlier than you, right? Six years even."

Natsume smirked when he heard Aoi whining to Youichi. "Ngh, Yuu-kun! Nii-chan is making fun of me! He said he was born _six years_ earlier. That doesn't mean he can spite me!" A laughing Youichi was heard on the phone. "Don't laugh at me! You're supposed to back me up here."

Youichi ended up laughing even louder. "But sweetheart, he's basically correct. We both know he was indeed born _six years_ earlier than you were," came Youichi's reply in a teasing voice that could also be heard by Natsume.

"Mou, you two are always teasing me." On the phone, Youichi was immediately heard consoling his wife.

'Aoi is definitely sulking now.' Natsume smirked to her reply. He was happy to hear two of the most important persons in his life living their live to the fullest.

Not long after her miscarriage, Youichi once again got Aoi knocked up and with the family's blessings, the two was wedded with a small wedding ceremony attended by close ones. Kaoru and Ioran had shed tears together during the wedding seeing their only daughter getting married. And they once again shed tears when few months later, Aoi gave birth to the cutest baby girl later named as Hyuuga Yue. Youichi had taken Hyuuga as his surname upon marrying into the family. Today, six years had passed, Youichi and Aoi were still blissfully married and the six-year-old Yue was the apple of the family's eyes with her cute quirkiness. She took after her mother's looks and sunny personality but distant towards strangers just as her father.

"Onii-chan, you do know you have to come this time right? It's been far too long since you came home, our parents are beginning to miss you, especially okaa-san."

Natsume let a small breath out, "Has it really been that long?"

"Of course! And little Yue-chan has been telling me she misses her ugly uncle," said Aoi gloatingly.

"That one's a lie. Yue-chan wouldn't call me ugly, she adores her good-looking uncle."

Aoi scoffed, "As if! She said you've been neglecting her. Always too busy with your work that you ended up having no time to spend with family." By the end of her words, Aoi sounded timid and small even to his ears.

Natsume knew for a fact that Aoi was actually using her daughter's name to say what she was too proud to admit to. Being proud was always a problem the two of them siblings had shared since they were small. However, Natsume had always spoiled Aoi rotten whenever he could yet he stopped doing so a little bit by bit when Youichi and Aoi began going exclusive. He believed Youichi would be lavishing more than enough attention for Aoi. He even made it a scathing remark to Aoi when he first found out about them going out. He was feeling bitter because he was the last one to find out; their parents had known about it far earlier.

"Okay okay, I'm coming okay. I never did plan to skip. Do tell okaa-san to refrain from matchmaking me with any of her friends' daughter okay?"

Hearing his request, Aoi laughed sheepishly and mentioned it to Youichi, "Yuu-kun, nii-chan doesn't like okaa-san's meddling with his love life. It isn't as if he has someone in his life." Natsume could not bring himself to care with Aoi's mocking insult although he could not help but roll his eyes in response.

"Actually I can understand where he's coming from. I was also a victim before we're together, you do know that right?"

Natsume smirked when he heard Youichi being on his side, Aoi was huffing in annoyance acknowledging the few times when Kaoru did the exact same thing back then to Youichi. Natsume ruffled his unruly hair to the back of his head. Reminiscing the past again, he was quite amazed he did not catch hint of Aoi's feelings for Youichi when it was rather obvious back then.

Aoi had just turned eighteen when it happened, she was barely legal. She was still staying with their parents as she attended a local university. Meanwhile, Youichi was renting an apartment in Nagoya as he was attending a university there. Whenever he would come home to Tokyo, Kaoru had always seen to arrange a blind date for him with any of her friends' daughters. Aoi would always be moody and set to acting coldly towards Youichi.

As a matter of fact, once when Natsume paid a visit to the house, his parents and Youichi plus an attractive girl were dining joyously on the dining table. They seemed to be having a great conversation too. When asked of Aoi's whereabouts, Kaoru answered with worries etched on her face. Youichi seconded Kaori and said Aoi did not answer the door when he called on her earlier. Only Ioran remained passive with a blank face. The conversation finally steered away from Aoi when the girl changed the topic. Youichi was enjoying himself conversing with the girl whom Natsume found out later, was someone his mother had set up with him for a few months back. They had been seeing each other for almost three months; testing the waters if they had chemistry.

Aoi locked herself up for the rest of the day, she never went out until late midnight.

Natsume was only lucky to see her because he was staying up reviewing points for his latest case in the living room. Aoi went downstairs to get a glass of water to drink. His focus was roused when he heard footsteps climbing down the stairs with a small voice sniffling. When he looked up, he saw Aoi with a puffy face; her eyes bloodshot and teary, nose runny. The sniffling sounds indeed came from her. Bells and alarms went off in his head, one thing was clear as day to him; his sister was not locked up being sick instead she locked herself up crying. Seeing the little sister he had doted on since the day she was born in such state brought out the protectiveness in him for her.

When he asked her what was wrong, it ended up with Aoi crying silently on his shoulder for the the longest time. She miserably told him that the guy she liked had been getting close with another girl for the past few months. The guy was also giving Aoi vibes that he was never interested in her even though they shared secrets with each other. It however, had became less frequent lately. Being an overprotective brother, Natsume was rather annoyed to hear that the root of his sister's crying was a guy whom he immediately decided was a douche-bag. Natsume failed to persuade Aoi in giving him a name, so he could deal with the douche-bag himself. Aoi had protested and did not relent, not wanting Natsume to meddle her love life.

Knowing it was a useless attempt, Natsume instead suggested Aoi to confess her feelings so she could properly move on if the douche indeed not reciprocate her feelings. He also proposed to Aoi that she could be misunderstanding out of jealousy seeing the guy she liked being close with another girl. Both Aoi and the guy probably had mutual feelings for each other but neither knew how to breach the subject out of fear ruining their friendship. "Whoever that guy is, if he really does not like you, he must be quite stupid," was Natsume's exact phrase as thought it was ridiculous that a guy could get so close with his little sister without being charmed by her quirks.

 _And then, one year later he found out who the douche turned out to be._

"Onii-chan! Do you hear me?"

Aoi's sharp voice chased away all his thoughts, scattering them in his head. Natsume rubbed the back of his neck with his right hand and with eyes shut, he gave his usual quick response, "Hn."

"You haven't been listening, haven't you?"

"Yeah, my mind wandered away. And please you sound like a needy girlfriend."

"Psh. There you go again! Whatever, so listen carefully 'cause I'm not gonna repeat myself again. You _have to_ come to the gathering this Saturday. Wait, change that to you MUST; caps on the must. It's okay to come empty-handed and no I'm not being sarcastic." Before Natsume could response, she added in another remark, "However, we all wouldn't really mind a surprise."

"You sure you're not tired talking, Aoi?" He could easily picture Aoi talking with an expressive face; her eyes lit during every heated discussion.

"Onii-chan!"

Natsume's response was only a short husky chuckle.

"I'm giving this back to Yuu-kun, I don't want to talk to you any more." Sure enough Aoi sounded like she was sulking again which only made Natsume pull a grin on his face. And then Aoi's voice went timid and she spoke really softly, " _Ano ne, onii-chan, omedetou_ for winning. We're so proud of you. We all are." This time, although small, Natsume gave a genuine sincere smile. His eyes were glued on the television's screen which was still showing the same news anchor few minutes ago. However, instead of being focused to the news, he pictured his sister on the television's screen smiling sweetly into his direction; just like she always did back when they were small.

Seconds later, Youichi's voice replaced Aoi's on the phone. "And there you go, Natsume. Don't forget to come, _okaa-san_ 's been eager to see you."

"Sure. But please, the matchmaking?"

"Roger that."

"Thanks bro."

"Any day."

"Good night, tell that to Aoi also kay."

"Yeah, rest well. Don't overwork yourself."

"Hn."

The call ended. He switched off the television and again he was shrouded by darkness. The only light coming from the window. He sat on the sofa for a good five minutes staring into nothingness; his mind wandered back to _Serio._ Yet he felt his eyes quickly getting drowsy. Giving a quick glance at the time on his phone he decided it was late enough when the time showed it was almost half past midnight.

Dragging himself, he stood up and walked into his room. Stripping himself bare, he decided to take a quick shower to freshen a bit before sleeping; not wanting to sleep feeling icky of the sweat amassed today on his body. Not long after, he emerged from the bathroom wearing a piece of towel on his waist. After picking up his dirty clothes to be put in the laundry basket, he took off his towel and finally went to bed around a quarter past one.

 **-end of chapter-**

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This section exists solely for explanation and credits.

\- I'd like to clear any misunderstanding regarding this story. Thank you to **Gemini-Naps-Dragon-At-Heart5** for rousing this. You guys might be under the impression that _One Night Wrong_ will be a story which mainly involves Natsume solving cases. You are neither wrong nor right; the story however, is not going to be centred around Luna's murder case. There will be other law-related scenes but it's not going to be some serious law stories like what _Sidney Sheldon_ wrote.  
\- Hyuuga Ioran : In case you didn't know, his given name isn't Ioran. I got lazy so I used it anw.  
\- I'd like to thank **Purple-Hime** for pointing out the mistake. :)  
\- Overall, thank you for reading, reviewing and following, x. /inserts flowers emojis

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 **#writer`s_l^lla8y#**

 **Finished ;** 6:52 am, 21 July 2017 (GMT+8)  
 **Updated ;** 11:19 pm, 28 July 2017 (corrected mistakes and made minor changes)

Do leave a review, x.


	3. Light That Scares Shadow

In case you've been reading a/n in ch2, you'll understand I'm a big fan of Linkin Park. /smashes keyboard furiously So this one's **a tribute for** our man, **Chester Bennington** (a real one this time). /inserts wind emoji Enjoy! An update.

Be nice, people. I welcome _honest, constructive criticism_ and _any mention of mistake is highly appreciated_. _No flame, please.  
I do not own Gakuen Alice, Linkin Park's One More Light _or _any familiar words/titles mentioned in the story.  
_ **Words approx. ; 3400.** (Overall approx. ; 8200)

 **#writer`s_l^lla8y#**

* * *

 **One Night Wrong by Writer's Lullaby**

Hyuuga Natsume nicknamed as The Initiator rarely made wrong in his judgement ever since he became a lawyer. Yet a decision he made this one night ended his spotless record. And he only found out about his error years later. Of which totally changed his life.

 **Chapter 3 : Light That Scares Shadow**

She walked out of the changing room with quick strides yet still looking dainty and graceful. She looked around the surroundings of the space around her. In every inch corner of the building, Linkin Park's song, "In the End" could be heard blasting through the speakers. The place was having a tribute week for the death of the singing beast, Chester Bennington. Every night during business, the working deejays would play a few of the band's songs; some of them hits, some not.

It all started just after the news hit the world. The working deejay during that particular night was a big fan of said singer. After playing some songs attuned to their usual playlist; around midnight he made an announcement saying he would be playing the band's songs as tribute. Neither of the customers minded it and actually cheered to him. He began the first playlist with One More Light, introducing the song as one of the last few Bennington had recorded before death.

Mikan who listened to it for the first time got transfixed and mesmerised by his voice. She had listened to few of his songs in the past and she liked them fine enough. However, none got her in as much as that one track did; _it haunted her_.

After that night, some of the regular customers who were apparently an avid fan of the band requested and suggested their establishment to play tribute to the band every few nights. When it reached the owner, his response was to comply to the request as it would not hurt to do so. He also said, "If it brings more customer in, why not?" Since then they had been playing the band's songs every late night.

Mikan decided it was already late enough when a song ended and she needed to get home fast because _someone_ was waiting for her to be home. She picked up her pace as she made her way to the exit.

Suddenly a voice called out to her, "Going home so soon, Mikan-chan?"

She stopped in her tracks and looked over to the countertops on her right. Behind them was a smiling ash grey-haired man with crinkled eyes that made him look matured and nice; he was the bartender of the place. Mikan walked over to him while smiling in earnest although feeling heavy all over in her inside. "Yeah, my shift ended, Nodacchi-san. Need to be home fast."

"Saki-kun, huh? Wait a minute." he looked at Mikan understandingly as he bellowed out a name. "Anna! Mikan's going home already." Realising what the man was doing, Mikan opened her mouth to protest but was halted when he gave her a stern look which was rare of him considering his eyes always crinkled along with his smiles.

Not long after, a girl with a dusty rose hair appeared on the door from the walls behind where he stood. A smile was plastered on her face and she was holding a medium-sized paper bag. "Mikan-chan! Here take this home and eat it. If you're not hungry, you can heat them tomorrow morning," her hand held out the paper bag to Mikan over the countertops as she stood beside Noda.

"But, Anna-chan, I cannot—"

Mikan was interrupted before she could finish her words, it was Noda. "Mikan, take them. Besides, they're all leftovers, right Anna?" he looked over to Anna questioningly for confirmation. Anna nodded in return with determination clear on her face.

"Even if they're leftovers, I can't simply—"

She was once again interrupted when Anna butted in, "Mikan-chan, don't worry, we have more food in the kitchen. Plus the cook doesn't mind at all. He said he's rebelling against the owner for commenting his food the other day." She reached out and grasped for Mikan's hands, softly massaging them. Before Mikan could again protest, she continued talking in a soft and firm voice, "Besides, you need them. Even if you're reluctant—please, take them for me. If you don't want to eat them, at least give them to Saki-kun."

The toffee brown-haired girl felt a familiar pain rose in her chest. " _Ojamashimasu_ ," she quietly took the paper bag from Anna. Feeling herself slightly tearing up, she quickly bowed to both of the couple in front of her at the same time using her left hand to brush up her eyes, " _Arigatou ne, kimitachi_." As she rose again, the two faces were smiling at her with reassurance.

"Don't mind it. Now off you go, big girl. Tell Saki I said hi okay?" said the guy nodding to her in acknowledgement.

"Don't mention it. Be home safely, you know what the pepper spray's for! Take care, sweetheart. Hug Saki-kun for me and tell him I miss his cute little ass!" Anna smiled cheerfully while giving her a peace sign.

" _Hai_." Mikan turned around and finally made her way out.

In the midst of her way out, Noda talked loud enough for everyone to hear, "And don't mind that arsehole of an owner. I'll give him an ear off later." Mikan scoffed a little laughter, her hands raised as a gesture of bidding her goodbye. Without realising, tears were blurring her view.

"Thank you," she mouthed in a small voice.

* * *

A few steps away from the building, Mikan pulled out her phone and earphones; swiftly attaching the latter to the former. She unlocked her phone immediately opened the music gallery, next playing the first song displayed at the top of the screen; _LinkinPark _ OneMoreLight_.

After plugging in the earphone to her ears, Mikan continued her walk home on the cold night. Granted, there were still a few people walking about the streets and neither seemed to mind each others' presence. It was a normal view in the Ginza district around the area she worked. It was pretty much considered normal for a woman to walk alone on the Tokyo streets. Tokyo was, after all, considered one of the safest place in the whole world.

Feeling the breeze of the cold wind, Mikan pulled the old cashmere coat adorned on her body and decided to make haste to her way home. "The coat is really old and worn-out now. I might need to consider buying a new one later," she muttered in a small voice. She began mentally calculating the amount of expense she would need to buy a new piece of clothing. Moments later she tugged her lower lip with more sadness and stress when realising the value would only add burden to her. "Never mind that, I can manage fine for a few months more," she began to let Bennington's voice soothe her.

As the first verse began, Mikan hummed with the beat as she sang along to his voice after singing with the lyrics she had memorised from constantly singing it. However, once the song hit the chorus, she began to feel familiar pain tugging at her chest once again, the stress from work returned. Her pace quickened as the pain increased.

A familiar face came to her mind and she smiled at the memory. But the smile died upon remembering what had happened three years ago. Numbers of people's faces conjured up and their voices ringing in her ears; _cold and harsh_.

 _"She's such a thrash, why is she still here?"_

 _"Hey woman, why aren't you quitting yet?"_

 _"I'm so sick of your face."_

Tears began to form again on her eyes as the memories started playing like a movie in her head. She remembered all of them clearly; the insults thrown at her that she had to swallow by the end of service.

 _"You're a fucking disgrace to our company, just quit."_

The tears were definitely streaming faster now. Mikan put her free left hand on her mouth to block any sound threatening to escape; not wanting any unwanted attention on her from the faces of the strangers on the street that she passed by.

The sky above began to pour a gentle rain over her as if seemingly rejoicing her suffering. The pain in her chest was becoming impossible to bear. _'I will not cry here,'_ she thought with a grim determination with tears still running down on her face.

The flashbacks continued playing more in her mind. She was bullied and contempts were thrown daily to her face; within a few days she was the outcast in the office which she used to be adored at. She survived another month of pranks from her colleagues before she was finally called in by management. She had walked in feeling weak all over her knees but decided not to let the feelings shown on her face.

 _"Sakura-san, I'm sure you've realised all the talk about you around the office by now. It is certainly uncomfortable even for us, as the working environment here is suddenly disrupted. I am actually disappointed in you, Sakura-san, you were one of our good employees but then this happened. So I'm sure you understand why I'm doing this. Sakura-san, you're fired."_

She still had a vivid memory of her colleagues' faces as she walked out of the room; they smiled mockingly to her with satisfaction obviously plastered on their faces. She had to immediately pack up the things on her desk as directed to her earlier. However, upon reaching her desk, she saw it was messy with crumpled paper all over when it was not before; she broke down and ran to the toilet to cry out. After a good deal of ten minutes, she finally calmed down from crying. She walked out not giving a care to the faces that were snickering and staring at her face. Her eyes clearly reddened and cheeks rosy from crying.

Nonetheless, her attempt to retain her last bits of pride shattered in vain upon reaching her desk; a message was displayed on her monitor's screen. She began to cry again but this time with bitterness, anger and resentment, at the same time cleaning the mess not caring any more if the people around saw her crying. Some of them even stopped by to share their last insulting words with her; with most of the guys making sexual harassment. When she finally walked out of the building, she was literally empty in the inside remembering the message.

 **"GOODBYE, WHORE**  
 **WE'RE SO GLAD YOU'RE FINALLY LEAVING**  
 **YOU WERE BEGINNING TO RUIN THE COMPANY'S IMAGE**  
 **OH MY GOD, YOUR MOTHER IS SURE TO BE ASHAMED OF YOU NOW**  
 **WAIT TIL SHE KNOWS**  
 **OH WAIT, SHE'S DEAD ISN'T SHE? AND SO IS YOUR FATHER**  
 **THEY MUST BE SO DISAPPOINTED OF YOU IN THE AFTERLIFE**  
 **YOU SHOULD JUST DIE"**

After that, Mikan could not find a single job anywhere when they heard of her predicament. None of the interviewers wanted to hire her especially after she answered to why she was fired on her last post. Mikan almost gave up and she even attempted suicide a few times. Once, she almost succeeded in her attempt causing her to be admitted in the hospital for days. She finally woke up from her nightmare when her best friend, Imai Hotaru knocked some sense into her. A crying Hotaru had slapped her in the face telling her to remember reality.

 _"Baka! Don't you dare die on me. Don't you know I care about you? Do you think Yuka-san, your dad and Ojii-chan would be happy if they found out you're trying to kill yourself? Live, Mikan. I'm always by your side to help you walk through this. Think of the future."_

She began to pick herself up bits by bits ever since then with Hotaru's help. She even managed to find a temporary job at a nearby nursery. She knew if Hotaru was not there to wake her up, she would have been long dead.

Mikan slowly lowered her pace when a familiar building came to view; it was rundown and obviously aged older than her. She entered the building and immediately used the elevator it accommodated to reach her floor. Reaching the floor, she exited and stepped to her door. Fishing out the key in her sling bag, she immediately unlocked the door in front of her. As it got unlocked, Mikan paused and stood for a while as she used the edge of her cashmere coat to wipe away the snot and tears on her face. Taking a few breath in she finally opened the door and entered.

" _Tadaima_ , Saki-kun," said Mikan softly, stepping in.

She was glad to see the dark shrouding the small apartment upon entering. Usually when she came home, the lights would still be on and she would catch the image of someone sleeping on the sofa only to wake up to the sound of the door being closed. _'He must be asleep.'_ Mikan made her way to the small kitchen, having only to take a few stops for the space in the apartment was so small. She put away the food packed in the paper bag once opening the fridge. After closing it back, she took her steps to her bedroom; making sure to enter slowly and softly not wanting to wake the person sleeping inside.

When she entered ,she could roughly see a sleeping figure on her bed; feeling thankful for not waking him. She lightly stepped towards the bed and inspected the figure. Seeing the peaceful sleeping face, Mikan felt another wave of sadness in her. The bitter memory of the past still hitting her. She sucked in a deep breath and whispered softly to the sleeping figure as she kissed his forehead lightly, " _Tadaima_ , Saki-kun."

Suddenly, Mikan felt vibrations in the pocket of her jeans. Walking out of her room, Mikan made sure to grab the towel draped behind the door and accepted the call once outside the room.

"Have you reached home?"

Hearing the familiar soft monotonous voice, Mikan felt warm in her. "Yeah. Thank you again, Hotaru," she tried her best sounding her normal.

The line went mute a few seconds before the voice replied again, "You've been crying, haven't you." It was not a question, Hotaru said the words with an obvious stern in her tone. "That bastard did you in again huh? One fine day, I'm going to kill him with an invention I develop for assassination," Hotaru continued as she talked with suppressed anger in her voice.

Tears once again slipped down Mikan's face as she laughed softly to Hotaru's words. "Yeah." She sniffled and choked on her words as she attempted to talk in a barely whining tone, "Hotaru, I've been remembering _them_ again."

Once again, the line went mute except for the sound of Hotaru breathing. "That arsehole. What did he say this time? This is why I told you to quit the job." She finally sighed in defeat when Mikan did not immediately reply again, "Mikan, listen to me. You will be strong and you need to, okay? Just look at Saki's pictures at work and you'll be fine."

"Yes, Hotaru." Mikan answered like a child obeying her mother still crying with a heavy pour.

"Now do as I say, go take a hot bath. You need it. Cry your heart out, if you want to. Make sure you leave the bathroom only when you're done crying, okay? And then you'll go straight to sleep."

"Mmm hmm."

"Now go, we'll talk again later. You can do this, you care for Saki-kun, right?"

"Well of course, I do." Mikan was torn when she answered, reluctant to end the call.

"Mikan . . ." came another sigh from the monotonous voice.

"Hotaru? You know I love you right?"

"I know and I will always love you back, Mikan. Probably more than I do for Ruka. And I you, Mikan, _and I you_."

The answer only broke her more, yet happiness and warm slowly fuzzing her insides at Hotaru's answer and not-really-but-kinda-one attempt at joking to cheer her up. "He'll be jealous, you know that."

"Usa-chan can cheer him up," disinterest tinged in Hotaru's reply.

Mikan laughed in the midst of her tears picturing Hotaru shrugging. "You don't really mean that. _Jaa_ , Hotaru. Thank you."

"Sure, Mikan. I'm always here for you."

The call ended with a tick and Chester Bennington's voice could be heard again singing. Mikan detached the earphones from her ears and phone. The song continued to play in the small apartment but with a low volume; loud enough only for her house. Deciding to let it be the background noise decorating the silence that night, Mikan then headed to the bathroom and took a shower.

She finally cried herself out. She was thankful for being a silent crier as not wanting to disturb Saki's sleeping considering how thin the walls were. Mikan felt suffocation engulfing her and it became hard for to breathe. Her heart was pounding so hard against her chest. She sobbed out all the frustrations from work and tiredness from being so strong for so long; and the pain slowly ebbing away as the tears dropped together with the rain of water droplets from the shower head slipping down her body.

She finally emerged out thirty minutes later when the the water turned cold even though she had finished crying earlier; the warm fluid helping to calm her making her stay. As she entered her room, the figure on her bed was not asleep any more. He was sitting on bed, awake and greeted when he saw her, at the same time softly rubbing his eyes with a hand, " _Okaeri_."

" _Hai, tadaima_." Mikan smiled and walked to her closet, pulling out a clean oversized t-shirt and undies; immediately wearing them.

"I don't like Masachika-san, you cried." Mikan froze hearing the words.

"Really? I like him tho?"

"Why you crying then?"

"If it isn't for him, I wouldn't have a job now."

"Hmm. I guess he's fine. For now."

Mikan chuckled hearing the selfish statement, finished dressing up; she joined Saki on the bed and immediately hugged him. "Do you miss me?" Her hand softly patting his back as their heads toppled on the pillow together.

"Hn. Lots."

She smiled when Saki returned the hug as he shut his eyes not sure due to sleepiness or embarrassment from the affection. She ruffled his head in indulgence to which he leaned in for more. "I brought back food. Anna-san made it for us."

"Can't wait to eat them later. _Together_." Saki's voice was muffled as his face was buried in Mikan's neck inhaling her familiar calming smell that he missed for the whole day. _'You can hug her all you want later if you miss her,'_ was what Hotaru said to him hours ago when he would not stop asking of Mikan's whereabouts. It had been playing on repeat in his head every time he thought of Mikan.

"Yeah. She said to tell she misses your cute little butt. And Nodacchi-san said hi."

"Hn . . ."

It was a little while before Mikan finally realised the person in her arms was asleep again. The cute little snores he made amused her in indications. "Sleep, sweetheart. You must be out of energy. I love you just like I do for Hotaru."

" _Because you're the most important light in my life_."

Little did Mikan know, Saki actually heard her words before she finally fell asleep and with his forever-growing acuit, he replied with a small voice only heard by himself, _"And as your light, I'll scare your shadows away."_ And the couple fell asleep accompanied by the voice of Chester Bennington singing One More Light on replay.

 **-end of chapter-**

* * *

This section exists solely for explanation and credits.

\- Thank you for the reviews in the previous chapter. /inserts star emoji  
\- One More Light by Linkin Park : The single released on the day of the singing beast's death. /hand on chest  
 _\- This chapter previously had the song's lyrics all over. You can read the explanation on my profile._  
\- This was supposed to be a teaser chapter for Mikan's debut (with only 800 words approx.) but as usual, I got overboard writing. And you guessed right, this is not part of the original ch1. Thought of this during shower and immediately got into writing afterwards. The whole time writing this, _One More Light_ was playing on repeat and I got a little emotional writing. Ha! What a sap. _I guess the teaser'll happen next time_.

* * *

 **#writer`s_l^lla8y#**

 **Created ;** 11:55 pm, 23/07/17 (GMT+8)  
 **Finished ;** 5:05 am, 24/0717  
 **Updated ;** 2:23 am, 03/08/17 (big thanks to **LP** )

What do you think? Leave me a review? :)


	4. His Girlfriends, Pt II

You guys really rock! Thank youuuu. /gives everyone food I have quite a few explanations, so as usual, read the explanation section ( **ES** ) by the end of the chapter. Also I have three shoutouts to dedicate in this chapter, (:D) so it might be a little longer than the usual. Anw, enjoy, an update! /inserts moonface emoji

Be nice, people. I welcome _honest and constructive criticism_ and _any mention of mistake is highly appreciated_. _No flame, please.  
_ _I do not own Gakuen Alice,_ or _any familiar words/titles mentioned in the story.  
_ **Words approx. ; 2000.** (Overall approx. ; 10300)

 **#writer`s_l^lla8y#**

* * *

 **One Night Wrong by Writer's Lullaby**

Hyuuga Natsume nicknamed as The Initiator rarely made wrong in his judgement ever since he became a lawyer. Yet a decision he made this one night ended his spotless record. And he only found out about his error years later. Of which totally changed his life.

 **Chapter 4 : His Girlfriends, Pt. II**

Around five to six hours later, Natsume woke up before his usual alarm at 6:45 am. By the time it went off, he was already wide awake in the kitchen brewing himself coffee to drink after brushing his teeth.

He decided to ditch his usual routine exercising on the treadmill in the mini gym room his luxury condominium provided. Instead, he dressed himself in a comfy black sweatshirt together with a grey jogging pants; he was planning to run outside. Equipped with a digital watch and his iPod complete with the earphones, he finally went out for a run. The weather abided him that day; he was thankful not to be caught in a high temperature. It was not too sunny with just the right amount of sunlight. For once, the breath of fresh air early in the morning cleared his mind.

He somehow felt different ever since waking up today; and the feeling only grew in him as time passed. _'Perhaps it's the confident-boost and ego from winning the case,_ ' Natsume smirked, smiling to himself while keeping his pace running, _'I deserve this.'_ He let himself grow a swell of pride in him for a moment, thinking how it was only right after the effort he put into solving the case.

After a long run, Natsume headed back to his condominium. He exchanged a glance of acknowledgement with the guard posted below as the latter raised his hand in a salute with a slight bow, "Sir."

Back in his suite, he grabbed his phone for any new notifications. He swiped some reminders to be done that day and saw two missed calls from his mother and a text message telling him to call back a mere twenty minutes ago when he was out running. He immediately typed a reply.

 _I just got back from a run. I'll call you back after I have my shower and finish dressing up for work okay?_

Not long after, he received a reply. **_Sure, honey. Just give me a call when you're ready._**

Natsume immediately stripped and took a shower. He was never a fan of taking a bath as he felt it was a waste of his time. And he believed that time simply waits for no man which made him rarely take a bath. He only took one when he had the luxury of the time to do so or during the time he needed to relax his muscles from being taut after long hours in the office. After the hot shower, he spent a good three minutes using the hair-dryer; not bothered to completely dry his hair as he would still lounge about killing time.

He exited the bathroom with only a towel then went into the attached walk-in closet. After putting on a clean white boxer briefs, he picked a light blue dressing shirt, dark grey pinstriped suit complete with the dressing pants and a striped red white tie. His garments were all readily steamed from a dry-cleaning service he had paid a company for. Aside of that, the company also arranged for housekeeping service which also took care of buying his groceries if he asked them for whenever he was too busy to buy his own. It was indeed a service deserving of their pay.

Natsume placed the outfits on the specifically-designed pole just for the purpose near the mirror and walked out with only wearing his boxer briefs to the kitchen. He toasted two slices of bread then took the butter from the fridge.

While waiting for the bread, he picked his phone and dialed Kaoru's number. It took a good few seconds before she finally picked up.

" _Ohayou_ , Natsu-chan."

"Good morning to you too, _okaa-san_. And please call me anything but that," grumbled Natsume pretending to be displeased. Kaoru laughed softly hearing his response. The sound of her laughter warmed Natsume to the insides making him smile.

"What are you doing? You already got dressed, right?"

"Actually nope, I'm not yet dressed for work. About to take my breakfast."

"Oh Natsume. You know you'll catch a cold if you're only wearing your underpants this early, honey, especially if you're fresh out of the shower! And what're you taking for breakfast? I trust it is not mainly coffee."

' _How does she know?_ ' Natsume was still amazed with his mother's clairvoyance until this day, having the ability to guess what her loved ones were doing. It always got him, Youichi and Aoi in trouble back then; not to mention even their father could not escape it. The sound of the toaster pinging caught his attention and he stepped to it with his phone still to his ears. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'm having bread and butter for breakfast. Not just coffee, I assure you."

In a disapproving tone, Kaoru scolded him softly, "You boys never do learn do you? Even your father and Youichi." Natsume grinned of the mention of the two people. "Thank goodness Aoi-chan is now taking care of Yuu-kun and yet I still have my hands with your father." The image of his father being nagged by Kaoru formed in Natsume's head as he put the slices of bread on a plate. He then brought it to the kitchen counter-tops near the butter he placed earlier. "But whoever is going to take care of you, darling? You know you're not getting any—"

Sensing the familiar direction the conversation was steering to, Natsume interrupted Kaoru's speech, " _Okaa-san_ , so what did you call me for? And where is _otou-san_?" He asked her diligently. At the same time, he was already sitting on a barstool by the counter-tops getting ready to have his bread.

"There you go again changing the topic. Just you wait what _I'm gonna do_ ," huffed Kaoru in a slight annoyance. "Never mind that. I'm calling to remind you of tomorrow. And your father is still out taking a jog. Said he need to up his fitness a level. I will never get you boys, suddenly getting health-conscious."

"Thank you but no, please refrain from doing anything for my sake. And yeah, Youichi and Aoi already called me last night about it. And good for him, being healthy is a must after all. Plus you reap the benefits when he still looks like he's in his prime."

"Oh you don't know what us mothers can do. Really? I am so glad. Be sure to come, will you. I haven't seen you for the longest time. Whatever you say, I just hope it will not attract unnecessary attention." For a woman talking about the possibility of her husband being adored by other women, Kaoru sounded very calm as she put high trust in her husband for their marital status.

At the same time, Kaoru's graceful motherly love voice tugged Natsume at his heart though he did not voice them and he also decided not to drag her mother more. "Sure do. But I'll arrive in the afternoon, I have a client meeting in the morning. It might take time," explained Natsume. "And _otou-san_ won't do that to you, you know that."

"Of course honey. But _ara_? Is that so? Then I'll save some portion for you because your cousins the Imais are coming. I also invited Ruka-kun's family over. You know how big of an eater your cousin Hotaru-chan is. Oh and I don't know a few more others, I guess."

" _Okaa-san_ , can that still be considered a small gathering?"

Kaoru laughed heartily in a ladylike manners. "Of course, honey. They're all our close ones, what else would close ones be aside of family?" She said that with a hint of smile and content in her voice. "Oh look at the time, You should eat your breakfast now, please eat more than what you mentioned next time. Girls don't like their men skinny, _your mother here knows_. And then, get ready for work, you don't want to be late now."

" _Hai hai_."

"There's my son. I'll see you tomorrow, honey," with those last words, Kaoru ended the call.

Natsume put his phone away, "She never changed that habit of suddenly ending calls like that." The thought teased a small smile out of him. He then began smearing butter on the bread and took to eat his breakfast silently while checking out for any important mails; at the same time sipping his coffee contentedly.

A short time passed and Natsume finished his breakfast meal, he immediately cleaned up after himself and finally went back to his room to get ready. By that time, his hair was dry enough with only a touch of wetness on the black tips.

In the wardrobe, Natsume began getting ready; putting great care into the routine. After wearing the pants and shirt he took out earlier, he picked a classic Burberry leather belt to be worn. Standing in front of the mirror, he next set into his usual routine of making a Van Wijk tie from the red white tie he had chosen. Next he put on the coat, making sure it looked fine on him. Feeling satisfied, he then took a look on the sets of clip tie and cuff-links he owned. He decided to forgo the usual plain all black he wore and reached for a matching silver Celtic cuff-links and clip tie. He used a local hair wax product for the sake of grooming when he could not really care to do so but needed to as he had to keep up with his appearance as a top-notch lawyer.

His guilty pleasure in his everyday outfit was having an earring to wear but only on his left ear. However, he did not have a big collection of said accessory as many rarely approve of lawyers with wild looks. He would wear the same one for a few weeks and wear another piece after that. When he first made his appearance in the law world; many concerned people addressed him about the issue. Natsume being Natsume put deaf ears to their words and thankfully, no one questioned him more ever since he kept winning cases after every cases.

After three weeks of wearing the same piece, Natsume decided to change into wearing a black and white studded earring that he had bought for himself for indulgence three years ago. He bought it when he was having a day out alone with Aoi for the first time after she gave birth, around two years approximately, to be exact. They had went out together before but were always joined by others like Youichi, Ruka, Kaoru and others; even little Yue. Natsume kept on avoiding going out alone with Aoi even though she kept insisting they should. He finally relented when their mother gave him an ear off about it.

When they visited the accessory store, he immediately felt a strong desire to buy the earring displayed on the rack. Aoi had wanted to pay for him but he insisted to pay on his own and told Aoi to keep the money for Yue's future education to which she huffed in response saying she had the money to spare, plus it could not hurt to splurge on the brother she had dearly loved. Natsume comforted her by saying he would let her spend her money to pay half for their lunch date. Aoi never knew but Natsume had actually arranged for the money Aoi paid to be sent to a local orphanage, and suavely took care of paying the lunch's bill.

The final step on his normal ritual of getting ready was wearing a perfume. From his small collection, Natsume picked Dior Sauvage and set to spraying it to himself; making sure he did not go overboard. He wanted to smell nice, classy and professional without being too much.

As he was done on getting ready that morning, he grabbed on his suitcase and his car key. By the time he left, it was 8:20 am. The whole time on the way to the office, Natsume alternated between thinking his busy work and his mother's stern voice to him; his face constantly changing between scowls and smiles. He arrived just on time at the office which was thirty minutes on a car ride when there was a traffic in the city.

 _'I don't need any woman in my life when I already have one so fine,'_ was his last thought before he finally lose himself in work that day. Little did he know how wrong he would be.

 **-end of chapter-**

* * *

This section exists solely for explanation and credits. **(ES)**

\- Thank you for reading, reviewing and following; you guys rock. /inserts hands-up emoji Y'all are wonderful beings. /forms rainbow  
\- Seeing as quite few of you addressed to being surprised seeing Mikan earlier than I mentioned, my apologies ahahaha. I noticed by the way I was progressing, she was either gonna appear in chapter 5 or 6, and we can't have the heroine debut really late, right? (; So I changed it a bit.  
\- I noticed I now have a timeline glitch thanks to the reckless move I pulled on the last chapter, so if after this any of you noticed a paradox of such, do inform me and I'll see to fixing it immediately.  
\- I know some of you are dying for clues or any hints for the questions I left unanswered, but I actually began leaving subtle hints here and there (since chapter 2 and the synopsis;). Although according to my friend, subtle is basically the same as zero. That aside, I had fun reading the theories you guys came up with hahaha.  
\- The _first shoutout_ goes to **Purple-Hime** : my friend, who're you? :D It'd be nice if I can reach out to you, I noticed you left a review on _Unexpected_. Lol. Thank you for that. /offers McNugget  
\- I'd like to offer my _second shoutout_ to **Mikana-yukihara:** the first review that left me to ponder the question you leave. Thank you for the question, I now have a situation to tackle in the future. /offers Skittles  
\- My _last shoutout_ would be for **LP** : not sure if you really are a new reader to this or you left review after I shamelessly asked for it in the last chapter but thank you for pointing that out. I actually noticed it a lot of times but I keep on forgetting. ;D And I remember the (Yue=Moon) from back when I played Rune Factory 2 before, thanks for the info. :) I'd also like to applaud your comment on the last chapter, the only that made me grin in evil hahahahaha. /offers Hershey's kisses And my last question, are you studying law? /inserts chin-grabbing emoji

* * *

 **#writer`s_l^lla8y#**

 **Finished ;** 2:28 pm, 26 July 2017 (GMT+8)  
 **Updated ;** 1:16 am, 29 July 2017 (thanks, **Gemini**! /hearts)

Do leave a review, x.


	5. The Promise He Kept

My self-loathing tendency when wrting finally paid a visit, wrote this chapter with painful. I tried my best tho, I hope you enjoy the update this time.  
Before you read, I suggest heading to YouTube and watch **Sistar19's Gone Not Around Any Longer MV** (it's a Korean song btw). You'll understand the chapter better tho it's not compulsory.

Be nice, people. I welcome _honest, constructive criticism_ and _any mention of mistake is highly appreciated_. _No flame, please.  
I do not own Gakuen Alice, Sistar19's Gone Not Around Any Longer _or _any familiar words/titles mentioned in the story.  
_ **Words approx. ; 3600.** (Overall approx. ; 14k)

 **#writer`s_l^lla8y#**

* * *

 **One Night Wrong by Writer's Lullaby**

Hyuuga Natsume nicknamed as The Initiator rarely made wrong in his judgement ever since he became a lawyer. Yet a decision he made this one night ended his spotless record. And he only found out about his error years later. Of which totally changed his life.

 **Chapter 5 : The Promise He Kept**

The song playing in the background suddenly came to a halt, causing the brown-haired girl moving to it pause mid-dance.

Still in an alluring pose with her hands on her slightly pivoted hips perfectly showing her tights-encased ass; she turned her face to the audience watching. The two faces looked at her with not so much of an expression on their face. "Why, Hotaru? Did I make a mistake again?" Mikan raised a brow in question, _'I can't really afford any routine's mistakes right now, I'll be performing it tonight.'_

Hotaru lightly tapped Saki making him walk to Mikan. "I think you already mastered it since a few days ago, it's just that your phone's ringing again — _for the third time_." Hotaru grabbed another handful of salted crackers from the bowl beside her, sharing them with Saki. "Oh and it's shitty Masachika-san," adding another remark, she then proceeded to stuff the crackers into her mouth; savouring the umami.

Mikan changed her body posture to stand normally; worried at the information of missing three from Masachika; her mind wondered for reasons. She then gasped upon realising Hotaru's last remark, "Hotaru-chan, language! Saki's here." Hotaru looked away with disinterest, her mouth still munching off the crackers.

Saki, being the sweet child he was handed the phone to Mikan and said, "Don't worry, mama. Aunt Hotaru told me the other day that _it just_ means poo poo."

" _It just_? What — never mind." Mikan gave a mean glare to Hotaru who was still eating without an ounce of guilt in her. "Don't listen to her sweetheart, she'll soon corrupt you, and I don't want that," Mikan looked at the boy in his russet brown eyes; her words soft yet stern. The boy in return gave her his charming smile melting her heart.

Mikan groaned and knelt down to give Saki a hug, "How do I ever get mad at you, Saki? You're too cute and charming for your own good. You'll grow up breaking women's heart!" Mikan released her hug, making contact between Saki's forehead and hers and softly murmured, "And I don't want that okay? Be a nice man when you grow up and treat the ladies well. Hear me, young man?"

" _Hai_ , mama," the boy answered as he gave Mikan a big hug with what his little hands could.

Meanwhile, Hotaru in the background sighed and shook her head at the exchange, "Mikan, he's still a kid."

"I don't care, he should learn early." Mikan answered while sticking her tongue out at Hotaru who only rolled her eyes in return.

Saki's small voice interrupted the exchange as he let go of Mikan, "Mama, your phone." He was pointing at the phone in Mikan's grasp. Mikan took notice and immediately looked at phone's screen, another call coming in from Masachika. She received said call and mouthed to Saki to go back sitting beside Hotaru.

The boy complied; happy to be eating snacks again. Mikan walked to the edge of the room and discussed on the phone. The other two engaged in small talks until Hotaru offered the kid for a drink and he agreed with enthusiasm clear in his eyes, shining them. They walked out the studio-like hifi room hand in hand to the kitchen. Not long after came back into the room with Hotaru carrying three glasses and Saki holding a carton of milk in his small hands.

In the room, Mikan was seen still talking to the phone, sounding slightly upset, "But I really want to do this."

While pouring milk into all three glasses, Hotaru managed to catch Mikan's conversation. Saki looked at the white liquid being poured into the glasses with keen interest. When Hotaru was finally done pouring the milk, Saki made a small hand gesture asking for a glass of milk while looking at Hotaru innocently; making her smile. "Here take this. Your mother's right, you're too charming. Eat the crackers." Hotaru then ruffled his hair before he finally drank the milk.

"I'll find someone to replace her—"

 _"I'll replace her."_

Mikan who was talking animatedly went quiet hearing Hotaru and she turned around seeking Hotaru's face. "Ho—Hotaru-chan says she'll do it." Mikan's eyes widened to Hotaru as if she was asking Hotaru whether she was kidding or not. "But you don't know the routine," Mikan said, her lips slightly quivering.

Hotaru shrugged in return, her hand reaching out for the salted crackers yet again. "Actually I've watched you practise it so long I might be as good as you are," she then plopped the crackers into her mouth, munching them with no haste.

"What about singing? You'll need to rap in Korean and I thought you have plans tonight?" Mikan asked with confusion.

After swallowing the food in her mouth, Hotaru replied Mikan in a cool tone, "Yes but I can ditch the plan, it's not that important anyway. And I've also memorised the song's rhythm and lyrics from listening it play countless times while you practise." Hotaru reached for a glass of milk and drink them while her eyes stay fixed to Mikan's face as if trying to convince Mikan.

"Oh okay," Mikan answered. "There you go, Masachika-san, Hotaru volunteered to replace the girl tonight for the performance—" before Mikan could finish talking, Hotaru suddenly cut her off.

 _"On one condition._ He won't be able to resist _it."_

Mikan's eyes widened again, looking at Hotaru, "She says she has conditions though and that you can't resist them."

* * *

Entering the condominium's door, Ruka's eyes first set to the boy with dark brown hair sitting on the sofa; his eyes fixed on the television watching what looked like Astro Boy to Ruka. He smiled at the view; glad to finally be home after working demanding hours. " _Tadaima_ , Saki-kun," Ruka called out to the boy as he took off his shoes on the entrance.

The boy in question looked at his direction; his focus watching television stirred. Saki's eyes lit up in brilliance; he took his small body off the sofa and walked towards the golden blond-haired man. " _Okaeri_ , uncle! Did you see cute animals today? I took care of Usa-chan, just like I promised," Saki was making hand gestures as he talked; his speech still childlike even if he talked better than most kids his age.

Ruka looked down at the boy in affection as he petted Saki's head. "Thank you, Saki-kun, I know I could trust you. And there were many cute pets today, I'm sure you would've liked them." They walked in together heading to the kitchen with Saki trailing after him. All the while Ruka looked at Saki in the eyes. "So where's aunt Hotaru?"

"Yes, I watched the tv after that. And they're practising dancing in the room. Let's go and watch them." Ruka let himself be pulled by Saki to the hifi room only to be surprised by the view presented.

In the middle of the room, two women; one raven-haired and the other brunette; were dancing hypnotizingly to what sounded like a Korean song, sounding sad yet sexy. However, the moment stopped short because one of the women dancing; Hotaru stopped moving as soon as she saw him when her body turned around to the dance routine. Hotaru gave him a mock stare as she reached for the remote and paused the song playing.

For the second time that day, Mikan was stopped mid-dance because Hotaru suddenly paused the song playing. "Hotaru-chan, mouuu—"

 _"Ruka is home."_

The three words made Mikan cease her complaining. She looked towards the door entrance where Ruka was standing together with her son, Saki. "Oh welcome home, Ruka. How was your day? Good, I presume?" Mikan asked while giving her trademark bright smile.

Ruka nodded in return, "I'm good but—what are you guys doing?" Although he meant the question for both women, his eyes however were glued to the raven-haired woman who looked slightly flustered either from dancing too much or being caught dancing by him. Even though she gave him a slight glare as she tucked strands of her long black hair behind her ears making Ruka felt his heart skipping a beat; taken aback by the mere beauty.

"Nogi, we're cancelling the date tonight, I have emergency."

Ruka's eyes widened but before he could ask why, Mikan was already gasping and protested, "Hotaru! You said it wasn't anything important! What do you mean? A date with Ruka-pyon is important!" Mikan frowned at Hotaru, while both her hands holding her hips.

"He wouldn't mind, right Nogi?" Hotaru countered while looking at Ruka in his azure eyes, as if daring him to say no. "Plus he can come along and wait with Saki." Hearing his name mentioned, Saki looked around to the adults standing in the room, trying to process what they were talking about.

* * *

Few hours after, Ruka found himself tightening his hands into fists beside him as he watched the performance on the stage; _it was Hotaru and Mikan_. They were wearing clothings far too revealing to his liking. _'Especially Hotaru! Just what is she wearing?'_ His eyes followed every of his girlfriend's moves on the stage. The way she sensually gyrated her body to the song playing followed by Mikan's voice singing. He knew his girlfriend was capable of many things but he never thought she could do this. She was always sexy to him but never _like this_.

Hotaru was wearing a black laced open back top, her cleavage showcased thanks to the barely-there lace on the top's front and the padded bra she wore. Her long straight black hair which she usually arranged in a messy bun was let loose that night; cascading enticingly down her body as she danced. Mikan, on the other hand, was wearing a very thin and loose white gypsy blouse. The blouse was mildly see-through that people could easily notice the short black spaghetti string top she wore inside. Like Hotaru, Mikan also opted for her long wavy brown hair to be let loose. The two of them were sporting dangerously skimpy and short ripped jeans; fitting tightly like glue. Their legs made to look sexier and longer when dancing as both Hotaru and Mikan wore a 4-inch silver and red stilettos respectively. Their face were painted with a soft smoky look and their lips dabbed with a similar teasing nude colour. They looked expensive on the stage as there were little gems studded on their clothes plus their bodies were sprayed with glitter.

In short, their looks tonight could be simplified with using only six words; _they temptingly looked like innocent sirens_.

 _"Ji-chan, daijoubu?"_

The small voice talking to him and the small hand placed on him crashed his brooding thoughts; Ruka sighed as he looked at the small figure sitting beside him, "I'm fine, Saki-kun, just worried about Usa-chan at home." He smiled to reassure the boy. "Do you want to eat anything?"

Saki smiled sweetly to the question, "Can I please have a _puppet_?" Ruka's eyes scrunched at the request, meanwhile the boy looked expectantly at him. Ruka racked his brains trying to figure out what the boy was asking for.

" _I believe the little man's asking for parfait_ ," a deep husky voice interjected them. Both Saki and Ruka looked to the man in glasses who was dressed in casual clothings; the looks completed by a beanie on the top of his head. The man called out to the waiter, placing an order, "A cherry martini, pineapple passion and chocolate fruit parfait, please. Oh and don't forget apple juice for the little man." After the waiter bowed and left, the man looked back towards them and smiled, "My treat, I owe you after all. And is the seat taken?"

Ruka's eyes widened in recognition, "Not at all, please—take a seat. But what are you doing here? Natsume'll flip if he found out you're here. And you'll be meeting him tomorrow, right?"

The man gave a small chuckle in response, "Surely you jest? This is hardly a night club. Sure it is bar-themed but it's a classy dining establishment that only runs during nighttime, this little man here is proof. Plus I've been frequenting the place a lot." He looked at Saki who was looking at him earnestly in interest. He did not even blink his eyes looking at the man; perhaps trying to figure out if he was a good or bad person.

"Alright, if you say so," Ruka shrugged hearing his answer.

The man gave a small smile, "So, Imai there's your girlfriend? Or the other one? I could've swore you were ready to set fire to the others looking."

Ruka smiled in embarrassment as he blushed answering, "No, not Mikan but Hotaru's my girlfriend. I mean, I'd like to think so. We're living together after all."

"You sound unsure though?"

"She's been hot and cold lately, I don't understand why. And now she pulls this off," Ruka said as he looked worriedly to the women on stage; his eyes following every of Hotaru's moves.

Seeing distress on Ruka's face, the man laughed a bit before replying, "Imai-san is unpredictable. Why not have a talk about it with her?" The waiter earlier came back, holding a tray of the order he had placed earlier. They offered their appreciation to the waiter, after he finished handing the parfait and juice to Saki; he bowed and left their table. "She could probably be upset because you ate her food."

"It's messed up that I think you could be right," Ruka sighed.

Saki already began eating the parfait offered to him after saying thanks to the man. The man in question offered the passion drink to Ruka, "Here, try this pineapple passion. Looks cute but the taste is definitely a different story." Ruka muttered his thanks, gladly accepting the drink. The man continued the conversation, "So who's the other singing beauty on stage? I've seen her a lot of times but never got to know her."

Suddenly, Saki spoke out after the longest time content on being quiet. "She's my mama." He looked at the man while happily spooning himself more sweets. " _Ji-chan_ , I know who you are. Even if you play hide and seek with that," Saki continued in midst of the spoonfuls of parfait, his hand pointing to the beanie on his head.

"Really now? Who am I?"

Even Ruka looked at the boy with interest while smiling, curious to what the little smarty-pants would answer. But when he finally opened his mouth and begin talking to answer the question, the two adults ended up being surprised; their minds blown — especially Ruka. Saki was only happy to fill in more information for them. By the time he finished talking, Saki finally realised what he had been talking about and his eyes widened in alarm, "I'm not supposed to talk about this. Please don't tell mama or auntie I told you. Auntie also found out by accident, but she made me promise not to tell anyone else." The kid looked like he was ready to cry, his lips trembling for being upset, no longer eating the chocolate fruit parfait.

* * *

Mikan smiled towards Hotaru as her turn to do the rap came. She was nervous and excited for Hotaru. Never had she thought that she would once again share the same stage with Hotaru; dancing and singing. Sure it was unlike what they did in the past; as this time it was a very captivating song, "Gone Not Around Any Longer". It still made her happy because they were doing it together. On cue, Hotaru's voice singing her part could be heard and the entire room erupted in cheering.

 _"Why am I withering away like a fool everyday?_  
 _Like a darkened flower, without you, I just_  
 _Keep saying it's painful, sad, alone_  
 _I fall asleep again crying"_

Hotaru sat on the glass bench provided on stage just for their performance, copying what the original artists did. Her eyes looked around the crowd as she sang, and finally came to a stop seeing the golden blonde-haired man sitting in the private booth. She could see Saki with him and another man. She later confirmed the man's identity when both men looked up into her direction after something Saki said.

Standing up from the bench, she slowly made her way back to the centre to dance again with Mikan; but her eyes managed to keep seeing the happenings in Ruka's booth. _'There's something wrong,'_ she thought as she harmonised with Mikan, keeping up. They sounded beautiful together. But the weird feelings in her did not stop teasing her; she actually volunteered this to spite Ruka but she could not help but feel something worse was going to happen later. However, she did not let the worries falter her as she kept her composure until they ended their performance. She could not afford to fail Mikan, more so when she was the one who volunteered in the first place. Plus the fact that she needed to prove to the shitty Masachika that even the _stoic Imai Hotaru_ could pull this off.

 _"I can't breathe now that you're now longer here_  
 _I can't even stay because you aren't with me_  
 _I am slowly dying but you're not here_  
 _Anymore anymore anymore_

 _I can't smile because you're no longer here_  
 _Because you're not here_  
 _I hate seeing myself break down_  
 _I have nowhere to depend on now_

 _Because you are not around any longer_  
 _Please come back to me"_

* * *

Hotaru and Mikan made their way to the booth after they put on something decent to shield off their body which was dressed in the skimpily before. Arriving at the booth; Mikan hugged Saki who seemed a little bit upset, "What's wrong, sweetheart?"

Saki kept quiet and rested his head on her stomach. Mikan looked to the two men in question. One man stood up and finally answered her question easing her worries, "I'm sorry, we didn't do anything to him. We just had a little chitchat and he suddenly got upset, he said he misses you."

Mikan smiled at the answer and she softly rubbed Saki's head, "Sweetheart, forgive your mama please, I could not look after you—"

" _Iie_ , mama, _gomennasai_. Am I bad boy?" Saki cut her off shaking his head as he looked up to her face, his eyes blurry with tears and mouth trembling.

"What makes you think so?" her heart broke at his question. Saki would always be her baby boy, he was her light; the reason she kept holding on no matter what hardships she had to go through. "You've done nothing wrong, _chibi-kun_. Nothing that I would know off anyway and even if you did make any, I will always forgive you," she continued while softly rubbing his nose. Saki once again buried his face into her stomach. Mikan sighed not sure how to comfort him when she never even knew why he was upset in the very first place.

Suddenly Hotaru spoke out, "Why don't we go home now? It seems like Saki-kun is tired already," she looked at Ruka for affirmation. The latter was looking at her deeply as if wanting to say something but only nodded in return. "And you, what are you doing here? Do you wanna be murdered by Hyuuga himself?" she continued, turning her head to the man wearing beanie.

The beanie man smirked roguishly.

Mikan finally looked up to the man in question. She gasped recognising the man, "You're that—" Mikan managed to halt her speech, not wanting to raise a ruckus because the beanie man could actually cause one with his existence. "I'm a fan! I'm sorry _about what happened._ "

"Imai-san, nice to meet you again. And Sakura-san, you flatter me, I've been frequenting this place for a few months already and I love to listen to you singing," answered the man first looking at Hotaru then Mikan. "And don't mind it, it's in the past already." The man looked away for a second, avoiding eye contact with the four pairs in front of him. He was smiling but it came out bitter. "Nevertheless, I hope to see you more after this and I'd like it if we can engage in a conversation, you have an _interesting son_ here," he continued while gesturing at Saki.

Mikan blushed a shade of pink at the comment, "Thank you and I'd like that too. But I really need to go now, _chibi-kun_ here seems to be upset about something." Mikan looked down at her son.

Ruka finally spoke up, "It was nice meeting you here but we really should go now. Come Hotaru, Mikan and Saki, we should be off now. We'll drop Mikan and Saki off on the way." He nodded his head to the beanie man in acknowledgement.

"Certainly. I'll be staying a bit longer here."

"Don't do anything stupid," Hotaru said to the man.

"We'll meet again!"

" _Ji-chan_ , thank you for the puppet and remember your promise," Saki's small hopeful voice brought every pair of eyes to him who was looking at the beanie man. Mikan looked thoughtfully at the man Saki directed his statement to; wanting in on the secret.

"Of course, you can always trust me," he said with a genuine charming smile on his face at the same time shaking his head to Mikan's questioning look at him. He was trying to convey to her that it was nothing special. And the four finally exited the place, he sent them away with his eyes as a cheeky thought crossed his mind, _'I found out about something really interesting today.'_ An image of a raven-haired man formed in his head as he continued sipping his martini.

 **-end of chapter-**

* * *

This section exists solely for explanation and credits.

\- As usual, thank you for RRF (reading, reviewing, and following), I didn't think chapter 4 would be a success. Y'all are so cute. D; Even the simplest review of _"_ **up date soon :)** " melted me. I'm whipped and you know it. /inserts hearts emoji  
\- And thank you for telling me how I'm so detailed. (I'll take it as a compliment) Because sometimes, I want to bang my head for being so. And thanks to me being detailed, I can actually confirm you this'll be more than 10 chapters, prolly more than 20. /facepalms  
\- It wasn't much fluff for RukaxHotaru, so I'm thinking maybe I should write a one-shot (or maybe three-shots or more!) specially for them two that'll explain the things happening to them in this story. What do you think? Would you read them? This is still just a plan tho.  
\- Overall what do you think? Did this chapter surprise you? I seriously felt crappier writing this than ch3. And ofc I went overboard again writing it. .-. I'd also like to think I finally gave some more answers in the chapter tho. /inserts moonface emoji Why not take a guess who that _beanie man_ is?  
\- Last but not least, what do you think of this section? If you feel it's not necessary, I will cease to do this in the future. Give feedback and thank you. :)

* * *

 **#writer`s_l^lla8y#**

 **Created ;** 1:27 am, 28/07/17 (GMT+8)  
 **Finished ;** 7:16 pm, 29/07/17  
 **Updated ;** 12:55 am, 30/07/17

Leave me reviews and make me happy please? /inserts eyes emoji


	6. That Saturday Morning

There's a few explanation on the past chapters under ES, so read them by the end of the chapter. (If you want to) And one shoutout to dedicate. :D Someone gave me the greenlight to write longer, so I didn't hold myself back this time. I enjoyed writing this, so I hope you do too! Enjoy! An update.

Be nice, people. I welcome _honest, constructive criticism_ and _any mention of mistake is highly appreciated_. _No flame, please.  
I do not own Gakuen Alice _or _any familiar words/titles mentioned in the story.  
_ **Words approx. ; 4900.** (Overall approx. ; 18.9k)

 **#writer`s_l^lla8y#**

* * *

 **One Night Wrong by Writer's Lullaby**

Hyuuga Natsume nicknamed as The Initiator rarely made wrong in his judgement ever since he became a lawyer. Yet a decision he made this one night ended his spotless record. And he only found out about his error years later. Of which totally changed his life.

 **Chapter 6 : That Saturday Morning**

 _"Okay, so this will be the cases."_

Natsume looked at the man with glasses with a slight nod. "Yes, these will do for now. I trust you guys have looked over carefully, being mindful not to make any mistakes picking them," he replied while his hands lazily caressed the marble desk in the room. He then slowly raised his gaze to the other two sitting at the opposite on the table, lifting a brow in mock, "Unless any of you have been playing around not being serious?" His eyes sharply penetrated them testing if they were still unable to mask their nervousness well in front of him. It was an important treat every lawyers should develop.

Kitsuneme tilted his head in respond, his face the perfect embodiment of innocence, "Whatever are you talking about, Natsume-san?" He then formed a sheepish smile as he attempted balancing a pen using his left hand. "Why would anyone be playing around in a law firm, right?" He continued, looking to his right, smiling at the person sitting next to him, perhaps asking for a lifeline.

Yomi Kokoro or better yet known as Koko barked an easy laugh. "Natsume-san, you're still wary of us from that one case?" Natsume who was about to reply snidely was too late when Koko continued, "Cut us some slack off okay? And we'll work happily for you." He winked playfully at Natsume. "Praise us some more, we actually still pulled it off baaaaaaack then. _Ne, Iinchou?"_

Tobita Yuu sighed in response, "Koko-san, please refrain from calling me that." Using his forefinger, he adjusted his slightly slanted glasses after the time spent in the meeting room. "And yes I agree with you but if you could just be more careful next time. We're representing the firm after all."

" _Haiiiiii_ ," came Koko's answer, his hand already reaching out for the cookies placed on the middle of the table for them. He was looking genuinely happy as he did so.

" _Tch_."

Yuu's sweat dropped hearing the firm's leader trademark sound. "Is there anything else we should discuss about, Natsume-san?" he looked at Natsume's face enquiringly. "I do wonder why you picked a really normal case though," he added when remembering the profile of the case Natsume had picked. "One wouldn't think you'd accept a more challenging one. I mean, especially after you've won the Koizumi murder case."

Natsume fiddled with his stack of paper on the table; each of them four having their own photocopy. Flipping the papers leisurely, he opened his mouth answering Yuu's curiosity, "Just the exact reason, _Iinchou_. I'm trying to lay low and letting you guys grow at the same time."

Yuu shook his head at the nickname, used even by Natsume.

There was no real meaning to the name, he simply got nicknamed by the trickster pair because he was the first lawyer Natsume had employed to be working in his firm, exactly five months after it was established. Koko and Kitsuneme were employed a year later after the two had finished interning at another multi-scale law firm. Since Natsume was still busy building the firm's reputation and name, going here and there to fill the cases' demanding requests; the task of introducing the firm was left in Yuu's hands. By the time their firm was on stable grounds, the two were already comfortable calling him with the nickname. It did not help in Yuu's case when he was always the one answering to the press whenever they sought the firm's opinions regarding latest hot legal issues.

Yuu's focus came back to the meeting room when Kitsuneme spoke up, "Something's bothering me about _this case_ tho."

"Which one?" asked Koko, interest mildly tinged in his voice.

Yuu glanced at Natsume, trying to decipher the man's mood form his facial expressions. _None_. Nothing was carelessly displayed on his face. If the man was interested in what Kitsuneme was saying, he did not show it. His rare crimson eyes was lazily looking at Kitsuneme waiting for the latter to speak his words next. His mouth neither set in a sardonic smile nor a firm line. He was simply letting himself be entertained by them.

"Well, look at Kanbu Mihara's case profile. It seems plausible but I feel like _something's wrong_ with it."

The others looked through the case mentioned except for Natsume. He leaned in for the glass of water prepared for each of them. He took a sip of the water with grace, no haste in his movement. He did not even seem fazed with the sight of his mentees reading the case profile roving for anything that Kitsuneme implemented as _shady_.

Koko sighed in resignation, he leaned back into the comfortable chair, "Kitsu-kun is correct, something is off about the case profile. But I just can't figure it out." After reaching for yet another cookie on the table, he immediately stuffed them into his mouth. "What do you think, _Iinchou?"_

"Certainly, I've to agree with you too. I can't pinpoint it but it's definitely fishy. However—" Yuu was in a loss of words. He massaged his temple softly then looked at Natsume who had been a silent participator ever since few minutes ago. "Did you notice this earlier, Natsume-san?"

Natsume's face finally changed expression. Plastered on his face was what seemed to be a roguish smile. He looked at his mentees one by one, "Congratulations. You guys actually noticed _that_. Especially _Kitsuneme_." Kitsuneme grinned shyly. "I was about to give you an ear off if not any of you noticed." At his words, the three of them looked mildly embarrassed, each finally showing the little skittishness they felt whenever meeting him. "To answer your question; yes, I did notice it. Since yesterday, when I was reviewing back the cases all three of you have compiled for me."

The three of them nodded their head slightly, expressing a little regret.

"Nonetheless, you still did a good job separating the cases though. Even I almost missed this, if it had not been for the second re-check, I might have also missed it." Natsume finally leaned in and flipped the papers and stopped on a page. "This will be a lesson, re-check our work at least twice or thrice. One wrong move and there'll be no value to our slogan anymore."

 _"Yes_." answered the three somehow in unison.

As his eyes once again read the details of the case, Natsume asked them a question, "Who's supposed to handle the case?"

Kitsuneme answered, "My team and I."

"Do you know the drill?"

"Yes. We meet them first. Figure them out. Walk away if they're up to something."

Natsume smirked, feeling satisfied with the answer, "You've definitely improved." After slightly brushing off the long bangs on the front of his face, he looked at the other two, "I trust you two would not be left behind by him?"

Koko's eyes widened, a slow fire building in them, "To this kid? Never."

Yuu, on the other hand, had determination etched on every inch of his face as he nodded. Fixing his glasses again, he muttered confidently, "Certainly."

Their discussion proceeded for another half an hour before Natsume's secretary, Otonashi Yura rapped on the door; informing them of Natsume's clients' arrival. Natsume had dismissed them all except for Yuu.

* * *

"Otonashi-san, please prepare some refreshments for _the guests_."

 _"Kashikomarimashita_ ," answered the woman with the Japanese ash hair.

Yuu looked into the four faces in front of him with a smile, "Do you have any preference? Toast will be fine, yes?"

The man with black hair even longer than Serio's answered with polished smile tugging on his lips, "Any preference? Then, _nama biiru kudasai_?" his request was answered with a smack on his back from the cool glasses guy with them.

"Tono-kun, please behave."

 _"Itaiiii_ , Keigo-kun. He was the one asking if I had any preferences," the guy set to grumbling at the treatment given. He flashed a smile showing a set of white teeth aligned neatly, looking at Yuu as if apologising for bailing out using him.

In the end, the other black-haired man spoke for their behalf, " _Sumimasen_ , as you can see, he's an idiot. And plain coffee or tea would be fine. Toasts are also good." He was speaking suavely, confident and not rushed. "And if you could, please bring extra cream and sugar of the sorts, it'd be a great help. We can't have the idiot whining his drink isn't sugared enough."

After bowing to them, Yura finally left as being ushered away to not give room for the man's flirting. Her retreat was followed carefully by his eyes and he could be heard softly murmuring, " _Wow, she's a hottie_." He was definitely more relaxed than the rest of them. And only the voice of warning from the glasses man hinting him off in a low voice finally stopped him.

* * *

Not long after beginning their discussion, Yura reappeared with a trolley and refreshments atop. Her grace remained intact seemingly unfazed by the appearance of two stars in the room. She maintained her composed face and kept professionality handing everyone the refreshments. At least everything was fine until someone made a slip.

To be precise, _Tonouchi Akira made a slip._

Yura was trying to place the small jug of maple syrup onto the table but before it could reach the intended destination, _it fell_. And it was all thanks to the man being excited at the appearance of the strawberry shortcake that was not mentioned earlier. Using his hands to express his joy, he accidentally slapped Yura's hands. Again thanks to his quick reflex, he immediately realised his mistake and set to grabbing the small jug before it could reach the floor. However, the damage was done as some of the syrup poured out to Yura, staining her clean and smart work attire.

Everyone in the room had their own different reactions. Rei glanced at Natsume, both of them briefly exchanging a silent communication. The former was amused with his bandmate's sudden show of klutziness. Natsume, on the other hand, could not bring himself to be bothered as he was readily informed of the whole band members' sudden crazy antics. Yuu could feel his sweat dropping seeing the unintentional slip meanwhile the other two accompanying the stars could only sigh in defeat; perhaps no longer surprised after being with them for so long.

Said guilty man however had his eyes widened when he realised his mistake. The victim, Yura was only seen with a glimmer of surprise which was immediately masked again with professionalism.

"I am soooo sorry, _Bijin-san_! I swear I didn't mean that."

"I am perfectly fine, sir. Don't worry about me."

"No no, I'll definitely make it up to you. I'll buy you a new outfit — more than one, I promise."

"As I said, there is no — "

"Oh you don't want any dresses? Okay, I promise to go out with you, a date! You would want that, right?"

"I'd like to refuse, sir."

"Yeah, you'll like that, going out with a hot star like me — wait _what_? Come again?" he asked, seemingly just realising Yura's refusal to his date offer.

"You heard right, sir, I would like to politely decline your offer." Yura bowed to the man who was flabbergasted.

Unable to fathom the idea of being rejected, he stuttered, "Bu — but I'm a top Japanese star? Girls dream of — well you know, go — going out with me . . .?" he sounded unsure of the words he said himself, looking flustered for being rejected.

The blonde beauty that came with them shook her head after face-palming. She sighed hearing the exchange and butted in the conversation, "Tono, please quit it. You promised earlier you'll be in your best manners and not put your womanising skills to practise." She lightly rearranged the bangs on either side of her face. "Plus whatever this particular skill you're developing is, it's not working. Trust me, I, as a woman am put off."

Said man rubbed his hands to his face, seemingly embarrassed by the situation.

In the end, the man wearing glasses that had earlier smacked decided to end the small chaos, "Tono, quit it. And on behalf of this idiot, I'd like to apologise to Otonashi-san. He truly is — an idiot to the core." He was giving Tono a look of disapproval making the latter avoid the steely gaze. "I don't know how many times I have to do this for them, Hyuuga-san, but please pay no mind to the KuRhoshi's stupid antics," he continued sighing. "They never learn to fix their attitude especially towards you, who seemingly saved their career."

Natsume gave a wry smile in return, "I'm no longer surprised. And might I say, I've basically developed immunity after having to spend time with them during Serio's case." He looked briefly at Rei as he mentioned the name. "If anything, my mentee here might be the one surprised," he continued while gesturing to Yuu who was sitting beside him.

"I believe I was taught from the best, Natsume-san," Yuu replied. "And pay no mind to this, it is merely an accident. It happens all the time." Yuu gave them the most sincere smile he could give as a lawyer. He looked at Yura and added, "Yura-san, I believe the matter can be handled swiftly?"

The woman in question nodded curtly, " _Hai_ , Tobita-san, I've always kept a spare change of clothes. There's no need to worry about me, I shall take my leave now." She bowed to the people in the room and added a polite smile to Tono.

Following her exit, Tono mussed his hair using his hands. "Man, I don't think that impressed her much."

Rei responded to Tono's remark, "I don't think she'll ever be. She didn't even bat eyes seeing us."

"You're right," he agreed sounding very disappointed. "And I thought my reputation as the lead guitarist can get me any woman."

The blonde beauty scoffed in response.

"Now, everyone we should focus. We didn't come here to chitchat after all."

* * *

"This will be the check for the rest of the payment."

Yuu extended his hand to the file offered by Keigo.

Keigo, or his full name, Takanashi Keigo was the man responsible for managing the KuRhoshi band. He was also the one who had succeeded in contacting Natsume to handle Rei's case. At one look of the man, many would not believe he was the one in charge of KuRhoshi considering the members antics and demands. But he did, anyway. No one would have guessed what was under his cool exterior; he was actually a sharp, smart and calculating man. He could be cold if the situation required him to. And that was exactly how he had kept the KuRhoshis on their toes. Even the rambunctious, and demanding Serio Rei, Tonouchi Akira and Amane Rui complied to him. Thankfully, the other two members of the band were easily lenient.

The man, definitely lived up to the meaning of _his name_.

Serina then handed another file, "And this here is another file that our side have prepared. It is drafted by a lawyer that came from the company himself." Unlike her before slightly-frustrated demeanour, she was definitely in business mode. She was looking more like the expert publicist hired for the job controlling the KuRhoshi's image.

Natsume took the file from Serina and opened the first few pages. "The content is as we have discussed before?"

"Yes, and we've added a few more clauses inside, regarding the witness that had came for Rei's testimony."

He nodded in return, "Yes I remember her condition was that her name definitely not mentioned anywhere and her relations to Serio be kept from public."

Keigo nodded in affirmation, "Certainly. In the first place, they don't even have anything. He simply came to know her at the Ine inn he stayed when he was missing in action." He glanced at the man they were talking about. "Until today, it boggles my mind why he pulled off the stunt. If not for us persuading a name out of him, he might be awaiting sentence at the moment."

Gone was the easy mocking smile on Rei, instead he was set to a bored expressionless face as he replied Keigo's scathing remarks, "As I have said before, no one even knew I was staying there. And the woman only found out by accident. Plus it all worked out to my favour in the end. As reckless as a person I am, I would not murder my ex-girlfriend just because she went to the red carpet with another sissy."

Tono snorted at the remark, seemingly entertained. "Yeah, I'd vouch for Rei here on that one. But man we never thought out of all people, it would be _him_."

A dangerous scowl came on Rei's face. " _Yeah._ "

"He practically backstabbed everyone here."

Everyone in the room was set to silence. Perhaps reminded of the impending doom if they were not able to prove Rei's innocence in the case. Even Natsume gave a wry smile at the thought. In their mind, they were remembering the case that had happened.

* * *

When he was solving the case, he knew the only lead to the murderer was the barely-existent clues left in the hotel. He had asked for Hotaru's help to recover the lost CCTV footage. It came with a high price, but with the fund provided from the agency, he managed. Hotaru, together with her workers were notorious for such job yet their identity not known to public. Only Hotaru herself was exposed to public yet still managed from being public's scrutiny thanks to her team's formidable talent in computing.

It took a good few days before they managed to find the lost footage. An image of a suspicious guy walking to the room was caught in the video. He was lurking nearby until Rei had exited the room not long after. A few minutes passed and he finally came to the door, equipped with a slightly massive backpack on his bag. Although it was disappointing that he was donning a cap to hide his face.

After a few hours, he could be seen leaving the room, with an almost similar getup, except for his shirt which was different than the one earlier. His guard was still up to his environment except that he made a small slip when his phone suddenly rang up. He was answering a call from none other than _Keigo_ , himself. The man was related to the talent agency as he mentioned Keigo's name when muttering he would get the work immediately done.

They later found out he was _Goshima Hijiri._

Keigo was also surprised. Not one of them had suspected him because oddly enough, unlike Rei, he actually had an alibi. As a matter of fact, when he was brought in for investigation, the man panicked as if any other betrayed person would. He even gave permission for his lodging to be searched by the authority. And it was as he said, _nothing_ were found. However, his electronics were confiscated and with the arrangement Natsume made with the authority, Hotaru was able to look at it with a limited few hours everyday.

No one knew how but she finally found a lead by tracing his laptop and phone's IP adress. Apparently, he had been frequenting an illegal online community. He had posted his dissatisfaction for the model's public stunt going to the red carpet event with another star. He was angry with the model for making his job difficult. After further digging, they found out he had rented a basement somewhere at the city's downtown. With a warrant, they immediately began searching the basement. Not surprisingly, the basement was filled with what he called as memoirs of the model and the rock star's relationships through out the months.

However, no evidence could be found to prove he was the murderer until Hotaru's team yet again miraculously found an encrypted video he posted on cloud storage. How they found, no one really knew but the evidence were all there, recorded in his phone.

Perhaps he could not hold himself from the kinks because the recordings were all of grotesque unspeakable things he had done to the model. Right from the recording of the first drug dosage he had injected to her which she was clearly resisting. From the video, it was apparent that the late model did not recognise him and was guarded to why he pushed himself into the room when she opened the door.

Other than that, there were also recordings of the sex he forced on her. From the anguished and painful screams, it was clear that she never consented the intercourse. There was even some videos from when he was slowly skinning her alive. It was almost as if watching snuff films; they could barely stomach the inhumane acts. With his exceptional skills with the computer, it was no wonder he was able to hack into the hotel system to get rid of all the footage recorded.

When questioned of his motive for doing it, he went insane by saying she was ruining his job as the one in charge of the band's online site. With much lunacy, he muttered his opinion on how she was supposed to have a happy ever after with the drummer. It turned out he had this crazy notion that the band's site would be having hit views from the couple's relationship being publicised on the site. He had also been harbouring hate on the model for a long time ever since their first on and off breakup.

It was truly ridiculous and no one could ever truly understand his reason for the murder.

* * *

The sudden sound of a crash brought everyone back to reality. It was Tono. He fist was on the marble desk. " _Fuck_! I still can't understand why he did it. He was a fucking trusted person in the team!" His face was obvious with suppressed anger and his voice sounded emotionally tensioned.

"Language, Tono. And it couldn't be helped," Serina gave him a gentle warning stare to which he looked away from.

"Yamada-san is correct, we should just immediately forget about this, Tono. I'm sure Rei — " in the midst of his words, Keigo was suddenly cut off by Rei himself.

"I actually knew he was into our relationship," he was leaning back on his chair with his arms crossed on his chest and his eyes fixed to the centre of the table. "He would always tell me to keep Luna carefully. That she shouldn't be fooling a guy like me." Everyone in the room had their attention focused on him, absorbing his words. "Yet I still didn't see it coming. Because he always meant well."

Natsume gave a wry smile, "It' actually surprising that it was _unprecedented_. Because according to Imai, the man was obsessed with you two. And getting more so towards Koizumi-san as of lately before _it_ happened." He received surprised looks from everyone.

Yuu interjected, "What do you mean, Natsume-san?"

"Apparently the sick bastard had an extensive collection of blonde porn videos. And even more surprising, most of them had the late model's features. There were even some other snuff films in the collection."

"The fu — "

 _"Tono!"_

"Plus he had an encrypted journal on the cloud storage which entries consist of his dark deep thoughts." He said drily. "He was writing down what he think he should do to Koizumi-san if you broke the relationship off again." Natsume directed his gaze to Rei. "And he wrote in the last entry that he was doing it all for _this man_." His head nodded towards Rei. "Saying something about how no one messes with him."

The four visiting people looked grim. Serina and Keigo exchanged looks to each other, as if telepathically discussing something. Apparently, they had reached an agreement when both nodded and looked back at him.

"We definitely would not want for that to be released to public, Hyuuga-san." Serina was the first to speak.

Keigo nodded at her words, "I agree. If word of it gets out, the talent agency will suffer a great deal reputation and it's not good even for us. Is there any way we can acquire them?"

Yuu shook his head, answering for Natsume. "I'm afraid not, Takanashi-san. Those records belong to Imai-san as her team were the ones who found them. I assure you, however, she'd ordered the team cease as she had informed us. Those things were only found because they were included in the encrypted files but just took longer to be deciphered."

"Is there no way at all?"

"I'm afraid not. Unless you're willing to pay the bloodsucking Imai a hefty amount. Everyone knows she's not cheap." By this point, Natsume was snidely smiling at the thought of his money-leeching cousin, always having tricks up in her sleeves on earning money. "Granted, I believe she'd settle for a _slightly_ smaller amount of money if you ask her to keep them in secrecy. It's a high price but I can guarantee they won't leak."

"We'll think about it."

Natsume nodded to them with a blank expression, "Think about it, discuss with the company if you must."

* * *

"Once again, thank you for helping us. No amount of words will be enough."

Both blonde bowed their heads to Natsume and Yuu.

"Pay no mind, it's our job after all. Plus we did get paid."

"Of course. Tono, Rei, tell these men your gratitude."

At Keigo's order, Rei tipped his head slightly to Natsume and Yuu, meanwhile Tono grumbled first before muttering his thanks.

The latter was distracted looking around as if he was looking for someone. Out of the corner, Yura was seen approaching the group. She stopped a few steps ahead bowing in respect to the four. No one noticed Tono's slightly flustered face at her appearance. She directed her gaze to Natsume and Yuu.

"Anything wrong, Otonashi?"

The woman shook her head answering Natsume's question. "Nothing, sir. I'm sorry if I were disrupting something but I am here to deliver the message from your father, _Mr. Hyuuga_." She was talking courteously, befitting of her status as his secretary.

The entire group perked in interest at the mention of the name. Everyone knows about the _business mogul, Hyuuga Ioran_. The people in Tokyo must have heard his name at least once in their whole life because the man was such important figure in the metropolitan city.

Natsume gave a weak smile so subtle no one caught him, "Well? Is it about the gathering?"

" _Hai_ , it seemed so. He said not to make your mother, Mrs. Hyuuga wait."

The message rung clear to Natsume. _'Don't be late or your mother will ramble about it. And I'll have to listen to her because it's only right to do so. But don't think I'll give you an ear off about it.'_ Natsume could hear Ioran's voice on the back of his head. He thought about how ironic it was that his father was known as a serious strict person but turned the relenting, pliant husband to his mother.

Rei teased Natsume, "Now Hyuuga, don't keep your elderly waiting."

Natsume responded with a scowling look at the drummer.

"I agree, no one should keep the mogul Hyuuga waiting, especially his own son," added Serina whom comments were agreed by the others clear in the way they nodded their heads. She continued, "We shall not take more of your time. Thank you for your service." Keigo nodded, agreeing with Serina and set to tell the two rockers to mention their gratitude again. "We hope that we can count on your service again if any of these idiots or the three absent made a stupid mistake again."

Natsume smirked, "Certainly. But next time, you'll be dealing with the man here and not me." All eyes directed to the figure standing beside him; Tobita Yuu. Yuu flustered a bit at Natsume's words.

"Well, we trust you so if you say he'll do good, then he'll do." answered Keigo.

"Mark my words, he's a very talented lawyer. _Everyone in my firm is._ " They nodded at his promise.

* * *

Not long after, Natsume was seen exiting the firm's entrance, walking towards his car. He looked at his wrist to check the time. _'1.49? It'll take a good hour with the restless traffic at this peak hour,'_ he thought to himself. Within seconds, he was already in his car, well on his way to his parents' house. The whole time in the car, his mind was full of his incident with Rei. The man had shook his hand leaning to his ears and said, " _I know something about you that you don't know yourself."_

In Natsume's hand that was shook by Rei earlier was a little piece of paper with an address and time written on it. He looked at the drummer in question. "What is this?"

 _"One day, you'll visit the place."_

Natsume decided not to let the thought of the address disrupt his focus and gave his hundred and ten percent focus to the route in front. He was sure it was a small prank the drummer decided to pull off. So he let his mind think of the people waiting at his parents' house, expecting to meet the sweet niece he dearly treasured just as he used to dot on his little sister many years ago.

However, he'd never thought to think about what kind of _surprise_ was waiting for him.

 **-end of chapter-**

* * *

This section exists solely for explanation and credits.

\- As usual, thank you for RRF. A review from _Guest_ left me laughing, I thought I've been updating fast enough? xD You guys forever rock, you know this. /inserts rose emojis  
\- Takanashi Keigo : is actually a character in the manga. Better known as Megane, friends of _Harada Misaki_ and _Andou Tsubasa_. (referring to ch1) The name however is made up, his looks reminded me of _Takishima Kei (from Haikyuu!)_ , thus the name. I needed some stimuli to describe him, so I Googled some Kei pictures. And I also described him according to the latter's _rotten personality_.  
\- Also planning to write a long-running fanfiction for Rei which is based on this one. If it happens, it'll be centred around the band. Ofc, if I actually do write it, it'll be after I finish this one.  
\- Addressing the last sentence on ch4; many seem to be confused. If you paid any attention to the chapters' titles, ch4 was **His Girlfriends, Pt. II**. In ch4, Natsume thought his mother, Kaoru was all he needed, not another woman. Sorry if that confused you. Yes, Kaoru and Aoi are his _girlfriends_. :D  
\- If anyone else is confused as _Marshmallow-chan:_ this one's a quick explanation on **differences between uncle and grandpa in Japanese**. I Google-searched; **oji** means _**uncle** , _meanwhile **ojii** is **_grandpa_. **Hoping that cleared up the confusion. :) Unless, someone speaks fluent Japanese here and I'm mistaken; do correct me.  
\- Answering **LP** : I'm not a Korean culture fan anymore. I used to be 5/8 years back but not that avid. I've heard of EXID but never listened to them. I only know old Korean songs. :)  
\- S _houtout_ to **T. Mari** : thank you for the wonderful reviews! I hope the chapters live up to your expectation. I especially adored your ch2&3's reviews. The only rare reviews for said chapters. You understood why I wrote off Natsume's ire to Youichi and Aoi hooking up. ;D And you're the only one that raised question if Saki was a child _or_ **a lover** _._ I was hoping for that reaction from the readers but I guessed I failed hahaha, so I did few changes. (Not sure if you've read ch5 tho because your answer is there :P)  
\- Beanie man mystery is solved. /runs

* * *

 **#writer`s_l^lla8y#**

 **Finished ;** 2:44 am, 02/08/17 (GMT+8)  
 **Updated ;** 1:43 am, 03/08/17 (thanks **PurpleHime** :)

Happy August! /shoots confettis Review and let me know your opinion. :)


	7. Okonomiyaki

I think this is the longest you guys have to wait for an update hahahahaahha. I'm sorry. I have good reasons for this, I swear, so head to ES as usual and I have another shoutout to dedicate. :) Enjoy! An update just for you lovely peeps. /inserts heart emojis

Be nice, people. I welcome _honest, constructive criticism_ and _any mention of mistake is highly appreciated_. _No flame, please.  
I do not own Gakuen Alice _or _any familiar words/titles mentioned in the story.  
_ **Words approx. ; 4800.** (Overall approx. ; 23.7k)

 **#writer`s_l^lla8y#**

* * *

 **One Night Wrong by Writer's Lullaby**

Hyuuga Natsume nicknamed as The Initiator rarely made wrong in his judgement ever since he became a lawyer. Yet a decision he made this one night ended his spotless record. And he only found out about his error years later. Of which totally changed his life.

 **Chapter 7 : Okonomiyaki**

Natsume finally arrived at his parents' house. It was a modern yet still traditional Japanese house, sized reasonably. Outside of the house, Natsume could see a few cars lined up, ' _Probably the guests_.' He did, however, recognise his best friend's car. What weirded him out though was the presence of his cousin, Hotaru's car also parked there; he wondered why they did not come together using only one car.

Taking off his coat with his tie and placing them neatly in the car, Natsume finally exited and closed the door.

He began walking inside and stopped when a child's shriek could be heard saying his name. "Uncle Natsuuumeeeee!" His eyes immediately spotted the little bundle of black-haired cutie running towards him. He smiled. It was _Yue_ ; Aoi and Youichi's daughter. The little kid was the apple to the whole family's eyes. He knelt down and opened his arms wide, ready to catch her into his hug. She giggled seeing the posture and ran faster to him.

After catching her in a bear hug, he asked her "Hey, _moon_ , how are you doing?"

The girl ceased giggling and looked seriously at him with her hands on both sides of her hips. " _Dame yo, ji-chan_! My name is Yue, not moon!" she puffed her cheeks after that, her face a perfect made-up expression of disappointment. Realising only seconds later she had not answered his question, she looked back at him and gave a toothy grin, "I'm fine by the way, thank you for asking!"

Natsume smirked at his niece who seemed oblivious that she had forgotten her small ire at him. "Alright. So where are your parents?" He asked after giving her hair a good ruffle. His eyes then wandered to the house inside.

Yue's beautiful crimson eyes widened in realisation. She grabbed his hand and pulled him inside and Natsume let himself be pulled by the little girl. "Come inside, uncle! We need to tell everyone you've arrived, _baa-chan_ told me to tell her if you do!" Suddenly she looked eager to pull him inside.

* * *

In the big and spacious living room, they both stopped at the doorframe. Natsume could see more than ten people were gathered in the big space.

" _Minna-san_! Uncle Natsume has arrived. He's very good-looking right? He's also smart by the way, he solved that _Kojumi_ case! I know because mama told me so." Everyone definitely had their eyes fixed to the two of them, smiling; amused at the little girl's introduction of him and her slip at the name. She was introducing him as if everyone in the room barely knew him when they actually did. Natsume gave a slight bow at them in respect. "I _gonna_ grow up and be as awesome as he is!"

"Yue, it's _I am gonna_ not I gonna," Natsume said, correcting her speech which made the others smile. "And you also pronounced the name wrong, it's Ko-I-Zu-Mi, not _Kojumi_."

The bright girl turned red at his statement. She signalled him to lean down his ears to her probably wanting to whisper into his ears, so he would be the only one who heard what she was going to say. However, it did not work as her voice was still loud enough for the ones nearby to hear her. And they were only glad to share what they heard with the others. " _Ji-chan_! Don't correct me in front of so many people. _Hazukashidesu_!" Her eyes were darting between him and the guests.

He chuckled at her statement along with few of the eyes watching.

Not long after that, Aoi and Youichi came to them with the former calling out her name. "Yue-chan." The little girl looked at their direction, recognising her mother's voice. She leapt giddily towards them.

" _Okaa-san, otou-san_! Uncle has arrived," her hands were hugging Youichi's leg. And they both looked at her in adoration.

" _Haaai_ ," answered Aoi to her. "Aren't you happy now?" the little girl nodded enthusiastically answering her question.

Youichi requested his daughter to do something, "Yue-chan, can you help papa here?"

Her eyes brightened at his question, perhaps excited to be doing something for her father. " _Nani_?"

"Please find your grandma and grandpa, tell them your uncle has arrived."

She raised her hand to him in mock salute, "Aye aye, captain!" The gesture she made more chuckle and even Natsume could not help himself from breaking a smile at her adorable wits.

After she left, the three finally had a proper reunion. Aoi gave her brother a crashing hug that he accepted. He patted her back softly in affection. " _I missed you_ ," she said in a small voice. Natsume looked at Youichi who just smiled and shrugged in response. After she let him go she looked at him with a big smile, "Thank you for coming."

Youichi was next, they exchanged a man hug, patting each others' backs. "Glad you came, bro," he said to Natsume.

" _Hn_. So did you do as I asked?" Natsume looked at him expectantly, a small smile apparent on his lips.

Youichi was lost for a moment until a thought occurred and he gave a small chuckle. "Yeah, I tried my best. But I saw unfamiliar faces though." Natsume's face slightly changed, he raised a mocking brow to him. "Yeah, she came with Hotaru-san. And a little kid who became fast friends with Yue-chan. Looks as if that's her son, so I don't think you're in trouble however?"

"Alright, thanks," he nodded in acknowledgement.

Aoi broke their conversation, "Ohh, _nii-chan_! You wore that earring!" Natsume nodded his head, confirming her statement. She made a confused look, "I still wonder why you have only one earlobe pierced, I mean you buy earrings in pair, right?"

He smirked at her question, "It's called being stylish, Aoi."

"Pfft."

* * *

Not long after their conversation, Yue came back with three adults tucked behind her; Kaoru, Ioran and Ruka. The girl walked mightily and proudly as she completed the simple quest her father had asked of her. " _Baa-chan, jii-chan_ and uncle pretty are here!" She announced loudly to them. Everyone laughed at her nickname for Ruka. Even the man himself shook his head and smiled at her ridiculous nickname for him.

Ruka grabbed hold of her and began tickling her, putting an act that he was not happy with the name. A happy series of the little girl's giggle could be heard through out the house. Everyone smiled seeing the two.

" _Yada yo_ , Ruka- _ji-chaaan_. _Gomen kudasai_ , Yue was only playing around," she said in the midst of her laughter, unable to avoid his invading tickling hands. Ruka finally stopped, his face also colouring from having fun teasing the little girl.

Kaoru hugged her son when she reached them. "My son, it has been so long." When she released him from the hug, she looked at him with proud beaming all over her face. "I'm so glad you could come today, even it was a bit later than what you told me," she winked as she reminded he did not come as the time he mentioned. Natsume brushed his hair on the back in response, hiding his feeling of guiltiness.

It was next Ioran's turn to exchange a masculine hug with Natsume. The hug was brief but with much emotion as Ioran gave him a big pat on his back. "Welcome home, son." With his hand on Natsume's shoulder, he directed for them to face the guests watching the family reunion in the living room. He bowed slightly before making an announcement, "My dear big family, my son—has finally came home after _so long_." He shook his head remembering how long it has been since Natsume last visited them. "He has been so busy fixing others' mistakes. I honestly don't know what is wrong with him. I clearly told him he's always welcomed at my company, yet the brat went and open his own firm when he was just twenty-six."

Natsume smirked at his father's words just like the others who gave a low chuckle. Everyone was informed of his father's disbelief when he opened his firm.

"The brat wants the hard way when I have easily provided him an easy path," he looked at Natsume's face with a smile. "Yet, I will always be proud of what he does, no matter what. As long as he is happy and doing something good for the citizen. My children know this." He looked at the guests again, "So please, congratulate my son for winning that Koizumi murder case."

Everyone applauded after the speech and a chorus of 'congratulations' could be heard. Natsume bowed his head thanking them for the well-wishes.

Suddenly, everyone stopped when Yue's loud voice could be heard. "Yaaaaaaay, uncle Natsume is greaaaaat. He defeats evil just like Ultraman-san!" Everyone barked a merry laugh when they heard her. It became even funnier when she proceeded to making a cross sign like the famous figure she mentioned, which after then she was jumping up and down.

Youichi grinned at his daughter's loud antics meanwhile Aoi could only palm her face.

* * *

The four of them; Aoi, Natsume, Kaoru and Yue were walking towards the kitchen. After Ioran's "little speech", Kaoru being the ever-concerned mother she was had ordered Natsume to come to the kitchen. She said she had prepared some food for him but the _okonomiyaki_ needed to be cooked on the spot else it would turn cold if left. The mother and daughter, Aoi and Yue, decided to tag along just for fun to watch her cook it.

Aoi suddenly remembered something, "Ahh, _okaa-san_ , Hotaru-nee and the Sakuras weren't in the living room just now, right?" She asked Kaoru enquiringly, her forefinger placed on her lips wondering.

Little Yue gasped in realisation at her mother's words. " _Sou desu ne!_ " she exclaimed. She then looked up to Natsume, "Uncle, you haven't meet my new friend, he's soooo cuuuute!" She extended her arms widely to make her point. " _Okaa-san_ , can I have him as my little brother, please?" She then turned to Aoi asking her question earnestly.

Natsume smirked at the question meanwhile the two woman laughed at her request.

" _Dame_ , Yue-chan. Saki-kun isn't mama's child, just like Yue-chan is. Saki-kun is Sakura-san's."

The girl pouted at the answer, "But I like him?"

"Of course, everyone likes Yue-chan too. Besides, if we take him, his mama would be sad. Just like I will be if you're taken away." Aoi answered her, smartly reasoning to the child's request.

Yue gasped again, "No! Yue-chan is _okaa-san_ and _otou-san's_ daughter! No one will take me from you." She then hugged Aoi. The three adults smiled at her answer.

He then butted in the conversation, "Who are these Sakura-san and Saki-kun?" The question was directed to Aoi and Kaoru. Aoi smiled yet looked blank herself, also not knowing the answer to the question. So she also looked to Kaoru's face for the answer.

The middle-aged woman smiled. She reckoned them to follow her into the kitchen while answering the question, "Oh, the other day I met Hotaru-chan with those two at the supermarket. It was quite late already, almost closing time if I weren't mistaken." She looked thoughtfully as if trying to remember the details. "I saw Hotaru talking to this cute little kid. He had dark brown hair and russet brown eyes. And he looked to be about two or three years old. So I talked to her and asked who the child is because it's not as if he's hers, right?" Kaoru laughed at the ridiculous idea as her niece would keep secret of her own child.

The other three listened to her story with attentiveness. Although in Yue's part it was more to copying her mother and uncle's move. Then Aoi spoke up, "And then what happened next?"

"Well, it turns out that the child's name is Saki and he's her friend's son. The mother appeared not long after calling out for Hotaru. You wouldn't believe my eyes, she looked so beautiful that night. Her face was bare from makeup at that time but the lack of colour could not prevent from showing her true beauty. Her eyes, on the other hand, spoke a great deal of sadness in there, as if she had suffered from something terrible."

Aoi nodded at Kaoru's words. "Yes, I totally agree. Just look at her today, she dressed up simply but still looked nice and beautiful. But I didn't notice what you said about her eyes, though?"

"I know, dear. And perhaps she's able to mask them carefully today," Kaoru said as she looked at her daughter. "It doesn't end there, you know. We ended up doing our shopping together. And the little boy was so quiet and polite, he never asked for anything even if they both asked him," she shook her head as if in disbelief at the memory. "So unlike our little Yue here asking for every food she sees and gobbling them up in one go," Kaoru said as she looked at her granddaughter's face and ruffled her hair.

Yue gave her trademark toothy grin at her grandmother and then responded, " _Baa-chan_ , little kids like me need to eat to grow up fast." She then feint-punched a few go at the air.

Kaoru gave a little laugh, " _Hai_. And then I found out something heartbreaking about the young mother and her child. Aoi-chan, Natsume-kun, she's an orphan! She has next to nothing to be called a relative." She looked so distraught at the piece of story she shared.

Natsume's ears perked at the information, "What about her husband?" Aoi also nodded at his question, wanting to know the answer.

"That's the thing, dear. The poor girl doesn't have a husband," she sounded so regretful. "And from what I found out from Hotaru-chan later, she was fired from work when she was just a few months pregnant. Imagine the horror, pregnant and alone with no one to depend to," her voice was grim by this point.

Aoi's heart tugged at the story. "How strong must she be? Even when I have all of you with me, being pregnant with Yue was difficult for me."

Natsume nodded his head, "Yes, and not to mention working single mothers in Japan have a lower wage compared to others employed."

"Exactly," Kaoru said. "I felt so sad for the fate placed on the poor girl. And it seemed like there was a back-story to why she was fired but even Hotaru-chan didn't know about it. Apparently, after she was fired, she had difficulties finding work because of what happened in her previous employment."

He shook his head in disgust thinking of the predicament that befell on the woman his mother talked about. "There must be some dirty work involved at her old company."

"I also thought so," Kaoru said agreeing to Natsume. "Anyway, something tugged my heart about those two, her little child reminded me of something. Perhaps it's my maternal instinct talking but I extended the invitation to them and I wouldn't take no for an answer. She and her child need to know how it feels being around family! Hotaru-chan also agreed to take them along with her," she clapped her hand once thinking about her success.

Yue perked up, "Ahh, we're here at the kitchen! Saki-kuuuun!"

* * *

True to Kaoru's words, there were three figured in the kitchen. Natsume immediately recognised the long black-haired woman as his cousin, Imai Hotaru who had recently lend a hand to him in solving the Koizumi murder case.

His eyes, however, was transfixed when he laid eyes on the little kid Hotaru was talking to. His features were just as his mother had described earlier except Natsume felt something when looking at the boy. Perhaps he could feel he was being stared at because Saki looked up to Natsume and returned the gaze. Natsume noted that there was something in his eyes; _wisdom, brilliance_ and they looked as if they knew _a lot more_ than his age would.

It was odd to Natsume, especially the last one. He could not deny the kid the first two traits, seeing as his mother also said the same of him when he was small. ' _But the last one — is definitely odd_ ,' he thought. It did not help that upon seeing him, the kid's eyes had flashed in recognition and changed to curiosity after that.

Natsume's thoughts, however, went flying away at the image of Yue running towards the Saki.

"Saki-kun! That's the uncle I told you about! He's very good looking, isn't he?" she talked to Saki with a matter-of-fact tone and pointed at Natsume with glee. Then she ran again to Natsume as he followed her trails with his eyes, " _Ji-chan_ , that's Saki-kun, my new friend I was talking about. He's really good although at first I thought he's a snob because he was sooooo quiet!" The boy in question flushed hearing her last remarks.

Aoi's face changed in mortification at her daughter's choice of word. She immediately scolded her kid, "Yue-chan! That wasn't nice of you to say that. Apologise to Saki-kun immediately, right now," at her instruction, the little girl turned her face down. Perhaps she had only realised that she was being mean with her comments. Aoi looked at the last woman standing in the kitchen, " _Gomennasai_ , Sakura-san. My daughter is actually very polite except for the fact that she sometimes say insulting words without intending to." She sighed and bowed to the woman, "She takes after her father and uncle a lot."

Yue bowed to the same woman and went back to Saki giving him a hug. "I'm sorry, Saki-kun. I didn't mean that. I actually like you, you're a good kid. We're still friends, right?" The boy nodded and returned her hug making her sigh in relief.

Natsume finally turned his head to the woman who was supposed to be Saki's mother. Upon landing his gaze on her, he once again felt an odd feeling in him. Just as his mother had described; the woman was beautiful. At least from the side view he was offered she was beautiful, since she was looking at Aoi and the two kids. Differing to her son, her hair was a light brown but in a longer length which she had tied into low pigtails.

His mother finally came upfront and swept everyone's attention to her, with the exception of Natsume. His gaze was still fixed to the light brunette. "Natsume-kun, here is the girl I was talking about. And Sakura-san, do allow me to introduce you to my _eligible_ and good-looking son, Natsume. Hyuuga Natsume, to be precise." She softly placed her palm on her shoulder.

He continued looking at her. That was when he noticed the slight panic on her face as she turned to look at him. However, she immediately masked her face with a smile. Her eyes, on the other hand, betrayed her because they looked wild when their eyes finally met. They looked like she would bolt any minute. ' _Again, h_ _ow odd_ ,' he thought because he did not remember ever seeing her before. Although the thought, he continued his piercing stare at the woman.

Unfortunately for her, her panicked expression earlier did not only go unnoticed by him but also his sister, "Are you okay, Sakura-san? You look alarmed."

"Please, do just call me with my given name, Mikan." They finally broke contact when she shook her head and smiled in Aoi's direction. "No, nothing is wrong, Hyuuga-san. I just didn't think your brother would be _Hyuuga Natsume_ here, the _Initiator_."

* * *

"Mikan, you said you cook _okonomiyaki_ from time to time, why not you help me and prepare it for Natsume?" Kaoru asked Mikan in a delightful tone.

Surprise was clearly etched on Mikan's face at the sudden request. She looked at Kaoru while giving side glances at Natsume, "Ehhh, are you sure? I mean, it's your son's favourite dish, after all. He wouldn't come home only for a stranger to cook it up for him."

Kaoru gave a simple smile at the response Mikan gave. "No, I don't think he would mind. He loves eating them, it just turns out his mother's version is the best to his tastebuds. He'll eat them as long as they're edible and good enough. Right, Natsume-kun?" Kaoru looked at Natsume for answer. And he nodded in return, slowly perusing the women standing in front of him.

She finally nodded although hesitantly, "Alright, if you say so."

Suddenly Saki tugged at the hem of her shirt, making her look at him questioningly, "Mama, _okonomiyaki choudai_." He said softly.

"You want some too?"

The boy nodded to answer her.

"Alright," she said while petting him on the head.

Kaoru looked at the two with rapt interest. " _Ara_ , little Saki likes _okonomiyaki_ too?"

"Yeah, very much. He keeps on asking me to make it for him whenever he stays with me," Hotaru answered for Mikan. "Although he says mine isn't as delicious as his mama makes." She was spooning herself some chocolate pudding.

The boy nodded agreeing to Hotaru's words, " _Hai_ , auntie's _okonomiyaki_ looks black sometimes."

Everyone except for the two kids and Natsume in the kitchen laughed at his statement. Natsume only smirked at his cousin's face. Saki was saying that the _okonomiyaki_ Hotaru often cooked for him sometimes get slightly burnt. It was a known fact to her close ones that she was not much of a good cook. She only began trying when she started living with Ruka and she actually learnt fast. But still, there were times when she failed her dishes.

"Saki, if you keep telling that to everyone, I won't make _okonomiyaki_ for you anymore after this," was Hotaru's reply to him still feeding herself the pudding.

The kid looked mildly surprised and immediately hugged her. Using his charming voice he apologised to her, " _Gomennasai_."

She sighed at the kid and patted him. "I'm just kidding, kid." He looked up at her with his sweet smile. "Mikan, your son is starting to show signs he will be quite the lady-charmer when he grows up later."

Mikan softly whimpered and leaned down to give a kiss on his head, "I know, Hotaru-chan, even I can't resist him." Aoi and Kaoru also melted at Saki's sudden show of charm and cuteness. Yue giggled quietly and made thumbs up motion at him in which he grinned happily in reply.

Natsume who stayed silent the whole time felt another tug at his heart seeing the motherly love she gave the child.

* * *

For the next few minutes, everyone was busy in different corners of the kitchen. Kaoru was supervising Mikan's preparation for the _okonomiyaki_ meanwhile Aoi looked at the process with interest. Perhaps trying to get the cooking tips from her mother herself. Yue was running here and there, brimming with excitement. Only Hotaru, Natsume and Saki remained at the small table.

Natsume watched Mikan's handiwork from afar with interest which he was not sure why himself. He looked and examined each of her movement carefully; the way her face concentrated at the task in her hands, how her hands skilfully manoeuvred the kitchen knife careful not to hurt herself and how her body leaned in a few times. It just caught his attention and he did not know the reason.

"You're staring, Hyuuga. Quite obviously, if I might add," Hotaru's voice commenting him finally took away his attention from the woman. He looked at the woman who was still gluttonously feeding herself. "And I don't think her son appreciates it," she said, gesturing at Saki who was sitting beside her; his curious eyes fixed on him.

Natsume shrugged in response, continuing to look back at the woman.

"Ahh, uncle pretty is here! Sakiii, hurry come over or he'll eat you!" Yue shrieked at Saki seeing the entrance of Ruka into the space. Saki widened his eyes at her words, immediately getting off the table and ran towards her. After getting together, they laughed merrily seeming tickled at Ruka who was faking an angry face at them. Mikan's focus was stirred and as she looked up, her gaze made contact with Natsume for a few seconds that felt long for both of them. The stare lasted until she decided to look down back, focusing again on her work.

Ruka shook his head while laughing, entertained at the two's antics. "Hotaru, it'll be a horror if Saki develops Yue's mad playful manners," he said to Hotaru as he seated himself beside her, where Saki sat before. "Even Mikan will be surprised."

The raven-haired man looked at his best friend, "You also know them?"

Suddenly just realising Natsume never met them before, Ruka looked at him with curious interest, "Yeah, Hotaru's Mikan's bestfriend. The only one who stuck by her when she was _pregnant and alone_." Natsume noticed his friend was staring at his face far too deep to his liking.

"Yeah, I heard that from mom just now."

Ruka nodded, seemingly disappointed with his answer.

"So where does she work now? I heard she had difficulties finding job after that," he continued asking. "Did you offer her job, Imai?" he directed his gaze at Hotaru. While waiting for the answer, he reached out for the grape on the table. Kaoru had left the grape for them to eat while they were cooking the _okonomiyaki_.

Hotaru pulled a sarcastic half smile at his question. "You want to know where she works? I'll text you the address." She pulled out her phone from her pocket and immediately typed the address in front of him.

Not long after, a pinging sound was heard. Natsume checked that he had just received a chat notification from his cousin and immediately checked it. Reading the address sent to him, Natsume's brows raised at the familiar text, "This is basically the same place Serio gave me when he was about to leave before."

Hotaru scoffed, "Ha. That idiot was actually there last night, looking stupid in his getup. Right?" she looked to her side where Ruka sat. He looked as if he was thinking about something.

"What do you mean?" he asked the couple.

Ruka smiled wryly, "Well he was sporting a beanie and a pair of glasses. And I guess he tied his long hair to make it less noticeable for him. If it was not for the familiar loop earrings, I wouldn't have recognised him."

Natsume shook his head in disbelief, "That idiot, I specifically told him to lay low for his own sake. Yet there he goes going out late night. Thank goodness he was smart enough to don a disguise although it sounds canny as heck." Then he looked at them again enquiringly, "So what were you two doing there? I understand you two were also there besides that idiot?"

Both of the couple's face coloured especially Ruka. Hotaru decided to shrug it off coolly and let Ruka explain to Natsume, "Well, I was there because Hotaru was joining Mikan's performance."

He raised a brow, urging his best friend to continue. "Hn?"

"It was such a sexy song, I could not believe my life that I'd live to see that one day," he murmurred in embarrassment looking away from Natsume's piercing crimson eyes. The latter was smiling roguishly. Then Ruka continued his words, "It turns out she had done it to spite me for taking away her food and giving them to Subaru-san."

He looked at the couple in amusement, "Well, no wonder someone's sporting a hickey on her neck."

Both couple swiftly looked at Hotaru's neck. There, the hickey Natsume mentioned of was marked on Hotaru's neck near her ear and jawline. Although it was subtle, it was there; _slightly bluish and a little red_. Ruka's face reddened, only realising that he had marked on her last night.

His girlfriend, Hotaru looked at him nonchalantly, "Nogi, that'll cost you. People will either think you abused me or I'm a sex addict. My reputation is suffering here." She then proceeded to continue eating the chocolate pudding. Ruka cringed at her words and sighed as response.

* * *

 _"Oishii."_

Everyone looked at the two eating the _okonomiyaki_ who had commented ' _oishii_ ' in unison. Although one sounded more masculine and male while the other's was cute and adorable. Both raised their heads looking at each other. With the younger tilting his head in charm to the older one who smirked at him. They were acknowledging each other in their own unique ways.

Unbeknownst to them, four pair of eyes were watching them with rapt interest especially one with chestnut eyes. Her heart was pounding so hard at the scene unfolding in front of her.

Suddenly, Yue's cute voice boomed in the kitchen, "Ooooohhh, uncle and Saki-kun love it! Beautiful auntie, can I have some?" Her young eyes twinkling with excitement.

 **-end of chapter-**

* * *

This section exists solely for explanation and credits.

\- As usual, thank you for RRF. /bows and hands everyone chocolate  
\- First of all, if any of you are a fan of the RukaRu pair, ytd I published **_Her_ **which is a spinoff story for them based on ONW. Yeah, I'm guilty as charged, one of the reasons I updated late compared to I usually do was because I was having too much fun writing that one. So head over to the story, read and you know what to do. :D Leave me a review there! /inserts flowers emoji  
\- Starting this chapter, I think I might have a little difficulty updating fast enough. I'll be a bit busy this month and even more next month. I don't want to explain a lot, if you want to know why you can head to my profile, cause I already updated there.  
\- If any of you noticed, I have removed the lyrics of _One More Light_ from ch3 altho it breaks my heart from doing so. Again head to my profile if you need further explanation.  
\- To **LP** : Thank you for your review on _Her_ , it definitely made my day ahahaha. I'm glad you liked it because yes, I snickered a lot when I typed that. I thought seafood was used in mainstream for Hotaru's character, so I used choc. Besides, I woke up eating choc ytd. /inserts shades-face emoji And abt Hotaru's job, I'll try to insert some explanation for that in the later chapters. :)  
\- Shoutout to **Bubbles** : hi deaaar, I'm sorry if that beanie man mystery was solved too subtly in the before chapter! I've immediately remedied the situation upon reading your review. And thank you for leaving the first review on Her. :D Thank you also for the well wishes; I'm in good condition, I just tend to get overwhelmed sometimes. I haven't written so much like this for the longest time. /hands chocolate to you  
\- Totally random but I actually watched videos on how to make okonomiyaki just for writing this chapter lels.

* * *

 **#writer`s_l^lla8y#**

 **Created ;** 2.19 am, 06/08/17 (GMT+8)  
 **Finished ;** 11:41 pm, 06/08/17  
 **Updated ;** 11:39 am, 08/08/17 (thank you, **LP** :)

If you like this chapter just as I did, leave me a review. ;)


	8. I've missed you

/laughs out loud I didn't expect the late update I warned you guys to be so soon. Excuse me but I've been so busy for these two weeks. When I finally had time to sit down and type, my hands and mind were jammed so I could only finished today. I didn't want to write something I deem word-vomit for you nice readers. :) Anw, enjoy! An update. /inserts rainbow and angel emojis

Be nice, people. I welcome _honest, constructive criticism_ and _any mention of mistake is highly appreciated_. _No flame, please.  
I do not own Gakuen Alice _or _any familiar words/titles mentioned in the story.  
_ **Words approx. ; 4200.** (Overall approx. ; 25.9k)

 **#writer`s_l^lla8y#**

* * *

 **One Night Wrong by Writer's Lullaby**

Hyuuga Natsume nicknamed as The Initiator rarely made wrong in his judgement ever since he became a lawyer. Yet a decision he made this one night ended his spotless record. And he only found out about his error years later. Of which totally changed his life.

 **Chapter 8 : "I've missed you."**

Mikan was sitting demurely at the wooden bench. Most of the guests already parted. In fact, Hotaru, Saki and her might be the only guests left. Ruka had left a few hours earlier because he had work engagement. They had discussed earlier before they went to the house that Hotaru would be the one to send Saki and her home.

Well, at least _that_ was the plan.

A few minutes ago, Mikan was slightly contented sitting at the small Japanese-styled patio. She was with Hotaru stargazing. Mikan knew that Hotaru could sense she was just a few wits away from asking her so many questions but her best friend remained silent. And Mikan just could not take the risk asking Hotaru when they were still here.

 _'No, definitely not when we're still here,'_ she thought, her brows creasing.

Her eyes then once again found their way to her best friend, who was standing not quite far from the wooden patio. She sighed thinking back how the phone call sounded so important earlier. Hotaru's usual tedious voice changed sharp after a few seconds upon answering it. The change was subtly present but Mikan noticed it nonetheless. After all she had been friends with Hotaru for a long time already.

Trying not to let it bother her, Mikan's thoughts wandered to her child, Saki. Mikan felt a mixture of happiness and sadness brewing inside her. She was happy to see that her son looked like he was having fun meeting a lot of new faces today. Although he still did not talk much, Mikan still _knew_ that he was having fun. She could see how her child's eyes brightened with brilliance and merriment each time he found something very delighting. And she was also glad that he had made a new friend, _Yue_.

Seeing her son laughed along merrily with the little firecracker filled her with ease. Saki was a quiet child, he did not talk much with anyone except for the three closest he knew; Mikan, Hotaru and Ruka. Whenever he would meet someone new, he would usually stand beside her; his hand gripping to the fabric of her clothes. He never hid or shy away from them, he would simply stood there and looked at the new faces with curiosity and questions in his eyes.

At first, it would bother Mikan a little bit because despite his withdrawn nature with others; Saki was actually a very charming boy. He was relaxed with the three of them; even Hotaru could not deny the charms he would sometimes target at her. And that was a lot to say since her best friend was a reserved character herself. Meanwhile, Hotaru's boyfriend; Ruka was a natural with him. Therefore, it had really been a good surprise for her when he actually mingled with Yue and seemed to have fun.

She then made a conclusion that it was her fault he was a bit of a reclusive. A twinge of guilt tugged in her and she could not help but feel a little anguished. She felt as if she could never provide enough for him. She wanted him to grow up just like other normal child; where he could laugh freely. ' _He deserves at least that much,_ ' she thought. She tried not to bring her morale down but she still heard a voice in her head saying that she was a poor excuse of a mother. It was taunting her.

The effort was in vain because it kept playing and they were like bullet shots fired at her. They were continuous and each time she thought it was gonna end, another shot would be fired. And the process repeated in a loop with each shot decreasing in the time lapse. Mikan took deep breaths realising the familiar pain slowly engulfing her; not wanting to have a panic attack here and not wanting to cause a scene here either.

"Are you alright, child?"

Mikan looked up at the voice, it was Hyuuga Ioran. The ageing man was looking at her in concern. She nodded at his question, not wanting him to worry more for her sake. Her right hand was clutched at her chest.

Ioran shook his head at the mild display of stubbornness from her despite obviously not looking fine. He called for a maid and told her to hurry and bring water for the young woman. As the maid walked away in hurried steps, he looked back at Mikan; worry clearly etched on his face. Mikan, in return, gave him a weak reassuring smile.

* * *

 _"Mama . . . mama . . ."_

A rocking motion awakened Mikan from her frozen state. Her vision came to focus after being blurry for a few seconds. The first face in her view was of her own son, Saki. His small young face directly in front of her; he looked worried and scared. Both of his hands were placed on her lap.

She looked up to see more than five faces looking worriedly at her. She sought for her best friend, Hotaru's face. Even Hotaru's usual calm face was marred with worry. It finally hit Mikan what had just happened and she felt her cheeks warmed in embarrassment. It was even more embarrassing with the Hyuugas all standing around her. Mikan was mortified to know she just had an episode at someone's house. Even worse, it had to be at the _Hyuugas' house_.

As her eyes swept through them once again, her gaze lingered a bit longer at his beautiful dark crimson eyes. Just like the rest, they also looked worried but his eyes also spoke a volume of questions and curiosity at her.

Mikan's eyes returned to Saki when he spoke again, "Mama, _daijoubu?_ " Uncertainty rang clear in his voice.

She sucked in her breath and hugged her son. "Mama _wa daijoubuda, chibi-kun._ " She said as she reached out and hugged him in her arms. He returned the hug with all of his might that his three-year-old body and energy could.

" _Kowai_ , mama," he answered in return, burying his head more into her body.

The short statement ripped through her heart and she released her hug. She then gave a lingering kiss on his head, " _Gomen, chibi-kun_." Her voice was slightly shaking, perhaps still surprised and upset.

* * *

"Hotaru dear, you're going home soon, right?" Kaoru asked her niece with a concerned voice. Her eyes were fixed at Mikan and Saki. Both of them looked tired, especially the latter. Her maternal instincts still pulled from remembering the former's condition earlier and how Saki reacted.

A small sigh escaped from Hotaru.

Aoi who noticed immediately asked her, "What's wrong, Hotaru- _nee_?"

She shook her head to answer the question. "I just received a phone call from Hayami-san. He said the team needed me for something." With her phone in her hand, she looked at Kaoru. "I texted Ruka if he could come pick Mikan up, he hasn't replied."

"The vet must be having a lot of customers right now, it's Saturday after all," Ioran said, chiming in. He looked genuinely concerned as he caressed his chin. "It's too bad I let the chauffeur go home early today. Certainly can't call him back, the poor man must be enjoying his time off now," he added after that, his eyes looking between his wife and their guests.

Hotaru spoke up again, "Kaoru- _ba-san_ and Ioran- _ji-san_ , it's okay. I'm pretty sure the guys can manage a few more time before I arrive. I can send Mikan and Saki home."

Mikan looked up at Hotaru with a protesting face. "Hotaru-chan, this is not what we've agreed all this time before. I told you if your work needs you, prioritise them before Saki and I," she pressed her voice but still with softness. Her right hand was stroking Saki's head which was laid on her lap; the kid looked tired. "Plus I'm fine already, I can just grab a taxi for us both." She said with in her demure voice, trying to convince the people around her. In her mind, she was already doing a mental calculation on the fare she would have to pay.

She could not stand being the centre of the attention in the house — the Hyuuga's house, to be exact. It did not help in her case that he had been glancing and staring at her every chance he had since he arrived. She knew because each time she would look up, there he was; his eyes fixated on her. He did not even look away or try pretending he was not looking at her. As a matter of fact, every time she caught him looking at her, he was being blatantly obvious about it.

 _'Just like right now,'_ she thought, able to feel his beautiful crimson eyes staring at her. ' _Thank goodness he doesn't seem to recognise me_.' Although her monologue to herself, she could not help but feel slightly disappointed. At the same time, her eyes were fixed to Saki whose looks took after her a lot.

The violet-eyed genius clicked her tongue in irritation. "And you think I'm going to easily agree with you? _Baka_."

"But Hotaru, they need you to be there."

"They can do without me for just a moment. Those babies need to grow and man up."

Being insistent, Mikan shook her head while replying, "I can afford it, Hotaru. I'm sure I earned more than I usually did this month." She tried not to cringe obviously by her last words, in hope she would still sound convincing.

A stern and matured voice intervened their discussion. "No can do, young lady. Although Hotaru's work here is important, I won't advise for the taxi. It's _costly_. I'm sure you can put use the money to something better." It was Ioran.

Mikan tiled her head down in response, acknowledging the truth in the middle-aged man's words. She did not, however, expect the next voice to speak.

 _"I can send them home,"_ was what the alluring, raspy voice said.

Once again, her heart pounded loudly in her chest. The sound was louder in her ears compared to the pounding sound in the afternoon. Her adrenaline rushing higher than before. It amazed her she did not faint again considering her recent one. She tried her last effort in resisting the help, "I — " Of course, it ended futile because the man spoke again, sounding both slightly deterrent and authoritative.

"Imai here will only waste time convincing you she can take you home. And you want her to hurry leave for work, _right_." Rather than sounding like a question, he sounded more like he was stating a known fact. The others did not even bother interjecting him. "Moreover, it would take quite the time for the taxi driver to arrive here, we're not in the middle of the city. Your son looks like he needs his bed — _fast_. Which is understandable, considering how he and Yue had been doing a lot of exploration today. Even my usually hyperactive niece looks tired."

Everyone looked at the two kids discussed. True enough, Saki was lying on the bench; his head comfortably placed on his mother's lap. Meanwhile Yue was hugging her father's left leg looking drowsy as her eyes blinked.

Realising her parents' gaze on her, she looked up to Youichi and said, "Yue _wa nemui, otou-san._ " Her usually loud and cheerful voice was instead languid and lacking of energy.

Aoi and Youichi leaned down to give their sleepy daughter some comfort. The latter then commented, "Trust a lawyer to know what to say ready with all of his arguments." He smiled a knowing glint and making eye contact with Natsume while giving Mikan side glances. Natsume shrugged solemnly in return.

"That's a splendid idea, Natsume-san! I am so proud of you," Kaoru said, her delighted smile obviously directed at the _three faces_. Then with a soft voice she said while looking at Mikan and Saki, "Mikan, please do accept the offer. It'd make me feel slightly better knowing you're in my son's capable hands to care for the way home. Instead of a taxi driver we never know would be someone good or not. It's never a crime to be more careful."

Mikan finally nodded in defeat knowing there would be no way she could win. Not when she was against all of the Hyuugas and her best friend. Even she knew when to relent because if she refused anymore, she might end up being rude to their offer of help. Knowing all of that, however, did not stop herself from being nervous; her heart hammering loud.

Aoi butted in the conversation, "Don't worry, Mikan-chan, although my brother seems broody, he's actually an honoured guy." She grinned impishly at her brother who only half-rolled his eyes in return. "He definitely won't take advantage or anything." She then proceeded to wink at both Mikan and Natsume.

"Thanks, Hyuuga, I owe you." Hotaru said while looking at Natsume indifferently to which the latter returned the gaze with the same intensity.

" _Hn_."

* * *

The six-year-old embraced Saki in a tight hug. " _Jaa ne_ , Saki-kun. We'll meet again later. I'll ask uncle Natsume to bring you again because he can do miracles." Releasing him, she stared at him with an unblinking stare. " _Kiite_ , from now on you're my _otouto_ because I like you looooots. Remember, you now have an _onee-san_ , okay?"

Three-year-old Saki sucked in his breath as he nodded vigorously; happy at her words. " _Hai, onee-chan_!" His cheeks flushed in slight red saying it.

Yue feigned a surprised gasp, no longer looking like the sleepy kid she was a few minutes ago. " _Mouuu, kawaii ne_!" She then once again embraced him in a tight hug which he gladly returned with the same ferocity.

The adults around them smiled at the little kids' pureness.

When they released the embrace, Mikan leaned down and patted Yue on her head. " _Arigatou_ , Yue-chan. Saki-kun had a lot of fun today, thanks to you. Right?" she looked at Saki who looked down shyly and nodding as he kept hold of her. " _Oba-chan_ is thankful to you," she added softly, looking at Yue with a sincere smile.

Yue giggled in response then looked at Aoi who was smiling encouragingly at her. " _Okaa-san_ told me to be nice with everyone even if they're mean to me! But I really like Saki, he's nice!" She smiled her toothy grin at the mother and son.

"Alright, little princess, uncle needs to get going now or it'll be past bedtime for Saki-kun there," Youichi said intruding them.

His daughter nodded but ran to Natsume first giving him a hug and kissed him on both of his cheeks. " _Ji-chan_ , don't forget to come again, okay? And bring Saki-kun later," she looked at Natsume seriously to her ability as a six-year-old. " _Yakusoku_?" she was holding out her pinkie finger to him.

Natsume smirked at her words then slightly nodded in confirmation as he received her pinkie finger with his. "Alright, _moon_."

Yue snorted, displeased with his nickname for her. After that, she ran back to her parents' side.

Mikan gave the family a last bow which Saki followed suit seeing her. "Thank you for letting me come, I can't be more grateful," she said softly. "Kaoru-san, thank you again for inviting me, I didn't think it would be so much fun," she looked at Kaoru with a smile trying to hide her sadness.

Perhaps Mikan did not succeed hiding her sadness because the elegant older woman stepped in to her. She hugged both Mikan and Saki with motherly love. "You're always welcome back, _you two_." She said with a _knowing_ smile at both of them.

* * *

The usual ride up in the elevator felt too long for Mikan. She could not help but be extra sensitive to the man standing barely three steps in front of her. She looked at the strong dependable back of his. He was carrying a sleeping Saki in his arms. And she could not help but feel her heart beating madly at the view.

When they arrived not too long ago at the building, Mikan who was about to wake up her sleeping son was told off by Natsume. " _Let him sleep. I'll carry him_ ," was what he had said to her from the driver's seat. Her heart lurched as their eyes met contact again for the countless time in the car. It felt more nerve-wrecking than it did when they were in the house separated by a good few distance away. This time, they were only separated a few centimetres short of a meter as he sat driving and she at the back with Saki.

 _He felt too close._

Ever since the drive to her home began, she could easily smell his sweet cologne in the small space. The scent was surreal to her. It was odd how his scent smelt fresh and clean yet still managed to galvanise her. Mikan blushed as she thought how the scent was invading her making her feel slightly heady. She looked down at Saki to avoid the penetrating gaze, trying to concentrate on something else than his exciting scent.

Saki was draped in Natsume's suit coat which was left in the car. The latter had told her to use it as blanket for the former in case he was cold sleeping. True to his words, not long after the ride began, Saki leaned in to her while muttering that he felt cold. Mikan complied to Natsume's order of using his suit coat when he used a simple two-word of, " _Use it."_

Upon unfolding the suit coat, Mikan's sensory was once again invaded by the fresh, sweet dewy citrus smell. She was thankful for the dark because if it were not so, she was sure she would be caught blushing by him. And it would be so awkward for her.

There was nothing really different in their current ride up the elevator except for the bright lights and the space was smaller. And she could still smell his exhilarating scent which was slowly turning her into a mush in the inside because he smelt _too_ damn good. It did not help that she was standing so close behind him thanks to the elevator being so small.

They finally reached her floor and he exited first then stood waiting outside.

As she exited, he looked at her in question. Mikan realised he was waiting for her to show the way to her place. She then immediately led the way with him following at her back. And even the usual way to the door felt long as she felt his piercing stare on her back.

* * *

Natsume followed her inside the door. His gaze was still on her. He gave a slight glance to the little boy in his arm when he further burrowed his head into Natsume's neck. Maybe it was because he was used to carrying Yue all this before because it felt natural to him. But something felt different this time, it felt too right and he did not even feel awkward like he did with Yue the first time back then. It was peculiar considering how he had just met the mother and son pair for the first today.

He looked up as he saw she turned around to him.

" _Eto_ , Hyuuga-san, this'll be it, I guess." She looked so nervous in his eyes which was again weird to him because he had sensed it all day from her. "You can give me Saki-kun," she continued while avoiding eye-contact with him. She tried to hide her fidgets from him as she reach out her hand. It was, however, obvious to his observant eyes.

Annoyed with her request, he took off his shoes and entered, "Just show me the room and please, take off his shoes." His voice was again stern. He clicked his tongue, displeased when he saw she was about to protest, " _Tch_. Don't resist, woman. Do you want to wake him up from his sleep? When I could easily carry him to the bed?"

Mikan finally sighed in defeat and she gingerly took off Saki's footwear. In the process, a small part of her hands accidentally grazed on his body. Goosebumps unfurled inside her, with her heart a mess of a pitter-patter. If he noticed, Natsume made no attempt to show it. Mikan cursed herself in her mind for being so excited over such a small contact.

She then led the way again, this time to the bedroom after taking off her own modest rhinestone sandals.

Entering the room, she switched the lights on and made her way to the bed. Her heart drummed increasingly to let him see her ultimate personal safe haven with Saki. Placing the pillow just right where Saki usually slept on, she murmured consciously to Natsume, "You can put him here."

Natsume leaned down and slowly let go of the little boy in his arms. The latter gladly let off his hold on him feeling the familiar comfort.

Neither Mikan nor Natsume saw what was coming next. Both of them raised their heads at the same time, their faces inches away from each other. The time stopped for them and both were locked in a staring contest. And it only broke later when Saki's small voice was heard.

 _"Mama?"_

Mikan turned her head to Saki. "Yes, _chibi-kun?_ "

He took the chance to observe her features carefully. Her forehead was hidden by the locks of her hair that fell freely on her face. Her brows were neatly placed up above her slightly glum-looking chestnut eyes. Adorned on the edge of her eyes were the lush eyelashes that added to her eyes' beauty as they flickered shut and open. On the middle of her face was her cute and pert nose meanwhile her cheeks looked a bit sunken, probably from lack of eating.

However, what really enthralled him was her cupid's bow lips that he had just noticed despite seeing her all day long since the afternoon. They looked pinkish, moist and so soft. ' _Utterly kissable_ ,' he monologued to himself, the thoughts getting dangerous. Matters only worsen for him knowing the woman was nervous around him. It brought out his inner wolfish predator instincts which usually only reared its head when he was solving thrilling cases. Definitely _never_ to a woman before. And her room smelt exactly like she did; it was a lovely lingering fragrant that he just was not able to name. The scent deranged him.

"Today was fun, can we go again?"

His eyes flickered to the small owner of the sleepy voice, then back to her when he sensed a slight hesitation from her.

"Of course, if I have time," she finally answered while leaning in to kiss her son's forehead.

Natsume finally stood up, his eyes stayed fixed to the pair. He gave a slight cough to gain their attention, "I should get going." His voice was smooth and suave. It made him uncomfortable how he genuinely felt peace seeing the love she gave her son. As he smoothened the little wrinkles on his dress shirt; his eyes were fixed to the two with satisfaction.

The mother and son looked up at him.

Saki hesitantly reached out to him from bed, "See you . . . _again_?" His eyes fluttered nervously between Mikan and Natsume. And his voice sounded so unsure and hopeful.

Natsume knew something was wrong with the little kid's request because he heard Mikan sucked in her breath. He was not sure why but the sound galled him, ' _Why is she so nervous around me?_ ' As response, he nodded at Saki to grate on her nerves. He then leaned down again noticing Saki wanted to say something to him.

Unexpected to Natsume, Saki leaned in to hug him; his little hands around his neck. When he spoke his voice was muffled but still heard by the two adults, " _Arigatou_ and I've _missed you_." Natsume returned the hug with so many questions in his head. His hands were supporting Saki's weight once again, placed on the kid's back. Looking at the child's mother did not answer his questions because she looked away from him, adamant on avoiding eye contact.

He then replied with the most plausible response he could think of, "Thank you, and I've missed you _too_." Oddly, he did not feel like he was lying at all. And the image of the earring he bought when he was out with Aoi formed in his head.

When Saki released the hug, he looked naturally happy. His cheeks were rosily pink and he looked shyly at Natsume with his eyes brilliantly lit even though looking sleepy. He looked like a purring cat when Natsume gave an affectionate rub on his head.

* * *

Later that night, after Mikan managed to persuade him to take a bath together before sleeping; they were finally tucked comfortably in the bed. She had a day off that day, so she was thankful to be able to spend more time with him. Propping her head with her left hand, she used the other hand to pat Saki lulling him to sleep. Her voice could be heard sweetly singing him a lullaby with a low tone.

Just when she thought he was finally asleep, she heard him softly murmuring, "Mama, thank you for letting me meet _him_. He's nice, _just like you said_."

And her heart thunderously thudded as she continued the lullaby. Her eyes shut as she remembered the day's events.

 **-end of chapter-**

* * *

This section exists solely for explanation and credits.

\- As usual, thank you for RRF. /bows and hands everyone chocolate The numbers really increased after I didn't update for 7/8 days ahahhaa.  
\- To _LP_ : If you re-read again, I wrote how Yue asked Aoi if she could take Saki as her _little brother._ In Japanese, **imouto** means **_little sister_ **meanwhile **otouto** means **_little brother_**. I hope that answered your first question. :) And it's cool that you study psychology! :o I didn't do a lot of reading for writing that "looks in his eyes" one (my bad) but I read a lot of novels before to understand what you're saying. I was trying to set how he had noticed it from his perspective as a lawyer, plus Natsume has always been sharp in the manga/anime, yes? x)  
\- Applauding **Bubbles** because you raised the age question hahahah. I'm actually very detailed abt this thing. In fact, it's one of the things that lagged my process when I began writing this because I wanted to set a good age gap. Anw, I won't answer your question for now because it'll be addressed in the later chapters. All I can say is that, in the story; Mikan is aged somewhere around Natsume's.  
\- This setting didn't exist in my original draft, so thinking it up took a little bit of time. I'm trying to appease the romance tags. I hope I didn't fall short in your expectations. :D Cheers. /raises glass of milk

* * *

 **#writer`s_l^lla8y#**

 **Created ;** 11:08 pm, 12/08/17 (GMT+8)  
 **Finished ;** 3:14 pm, 15/08/17  
 **Updated ;** 1:04 pm, 16/08/17 (honoured credits; **PurpleHime** )

Anything bugging you off abt the chapter? Leave a review. :)


	9. Longing

Hey, it's been a time! Here's a surprise chapter update for you. (I found a leeway allowing me access to the site) I have a lot of things to apologise about, well obviously the first one is for the long silence. If any of you aren't informed, you can head to my profile to read about it. As for the next one, if any of you are interested, you can read in the ES as usual. /winks Anw, I don't promise a speedy update after this one because I'm having my study week and have a test next week. (Wich me luck :) So, pls enjoy! (I enjoyed writing this chapter btw:)

Be nice, people. I welcome _honest criticism_ and _any mention of mistake is highly appreciated_. _No flame, please._  
 _I do not own Gakuen Alice, Ai's Story or any familiar words/titles mentioned in the story._ **Words approx. ; 5500**.

 **#writer`s_l^lla8y#**

* * *

 **One Night Wrong by Writer's Lullaby**

Hyuuga Natsume nicknamed as The Initiator rarely made wrong in his judgement ever since he became a lawyer. Yet a decision he made this one night ended his spotless record. And he only found out about his error years later. Of which totally changed his life.

 **Chapter 9 : Longing**

Mikan gave a soft pat to her child's shoulders. It was a small attempt of trying to smooth his barely wrinkled shirt. The child in question sat patiently on the bed waiting for his mother to finish dressing him up. His eyes following every of his mother's movements.

She had dressed him in a grey quarter-sleeved shirt with a dark comfy pants. "How do you feel?" she asked him softly.

"Fine," was his short answer as he gave her a small nod, assuring her.

She scoffed a teasing laugh. " _Chibi_ , you never change, do you?"

He cocked his head asking his mother what she meant.

This time, she gave in and laughed a bit. "You talk too little, sweetheart. I worry about you." She leaned down and touched her nose to his. He did not resist but also leaned in to his mother. Their eyes shut for a moment and before she could hold back, she murmured, "You may look like a chibi me but you act so much like—"

Realising herself, she stopped short before saying it. Slowly, she opened her eyes and lifted her face slowly. Just as she did so, her son also opened her eyes. And her heart fluttered at the hopeful look on his face. The look was very concealed and barely there but she noticed it nonetheless. The longing on Saki's face. Mikan bit her lower lips, in poor attempt to numb the guilt wrecking chaos in her heart.

It killed her but—"You're just like him."

It was an audible whisper on her part but he still heard her clearly. And the happiness was apparent on his face as his eyes lit up and his small lips pulled just a little, giving his own version of a crooked smile. After that, he shyly looked down at his lap, not keen on showing how happy he was from his mother's words. The sentence felt a whole lot like a compliment to him; something to be proud of.

The beautiful woman could only smile looking at her son. He looked awfully adorable in her eyes. However, nothing could have prepared her for what he said next, in his meek voice, "Can we see him again?" Everything around her seemingly stopped at his question. Her mind playing a flashback of last night's unfolding scenes. They only came to a halt once she felt a pair of small soft hands tugging softly at the fabric materials on her shoulder. _"Mama?"_

She gave him the best smile she could muster, "I'm not sure, _Chibi_. He is busy after all." At the same time, she had her right hand on his head, ruffling the unruly dark brown hair of his. _'It's getting longer now. Should I cut them again?'_ she thought to herself.

"Can't we?" the meek small voice asked again.

"I'm afraid so, sweetheart," she answered, her face frowning seeing the creased serious look on his face. Her little angel was always quiet and matured for his age but he had never really looked that serious, as if he was thinking about something so important.

Slowly, his hand on her shoulders loosened with his face looking crestfallen. "We . . . can't—?" When she was about to respond to her, he beat her to it, "Well, because he _is_ busy." The little kid then proceeded to nod his head, as if trying to agree with his own statement.

Mikan, however, did not fail to notice how upset he was with his own words. He never really showed so much emotion so even the slightest change was noticeable to her. Plus, she was his mother. _'Of course, I'd notice.'_ She did not want to break his hope, did not want his cute face marred with sadness. _'I'm probably gonna regret this later but . . .'_

Using a finger to tuck a few strands of hair behind her ear, she gave a soft cough. Gaining the little one's attention, she told him, "Well, maybe we could ask aunt Hotaru if we could possibly meet him again?" Mikan felt it in her chest, her heartbeat pacing a little faster than it was supposed to. However afraid she was, she took back her thoughts. If it meant giving a sunny sincere smile on her son's face, she would say it again in a heartbeat.

"Really?" he asked, sounding hopeful.

She gave a small nod as a response.

His eyes twinkled as he clasped his small hands. together Probably an attempt to hold in his feelings. "Okay, mama, thank you." He then engulfed his mother in a tight hug with all the strength he could.

Taken aback, she returned the hug, just as desperate. "It's my pleasure, _Chibi-kun_ ," she said as she landed her lips on his temple and her mind wandered.

* * *

"Do you want some more snacks before we go?" she asked, looking concernedly at her son who was sitting on the sofa. He was concentrated with his sketchbook that she had began giving him long ago to keep him occupied. It turned out he really liked the gift and from then on, she always made sure to buy him a supply of them. Sometimes, her co-workers would also buy for him as they seemed to adore him. According to them, _"Saki-kun is a good child."_

She smiled at the memory and then heard Saki answering her. " _Iie_ , mama, I'm full."

Peering at the leftover food she made earlier, she made a decision to wrap them up. "Alright then, make sure you've packed up your stuffs. I'm going to wrap this food so you can eat them later at aunt Hotaru's." She was already looking for a bento box to pack the leftover on the table. There were not much left but she was never a fan of wasting food considering her current lifestyle. She was brought up to be economical even before this.

" _Hai_ , mama."

She heard her son's softly audible response as she was busy moving around packing the _onigiri_ and _karaage_. Remembering something, she immediately mentioned it to her son, "And _Chibi-kun_ , please don't forget to put on your socks, okay? I know it's barely the end of fall yet but your aunt Hotaru told me that you mentioned feeling cold these two days. Why didn't you tell me?" Without looking back at Saki, she knew damn well he was about to protest to her, thus she continued, "I don't care if you say you can stand the cold, I still want you to wear them."

True to her words, at the sofa was Saki looking at his mother with puffed cheeks. However, he decided not to after her ramblings.

"Do you hear me, young man?"

"Yes, mama."

Satisfied, Mikan looked back at her son; her face beaming. "Good boy. Now go into our room. I've laid out a red flannel shirt on the bed. I just bought it the other day for you. And please take my phone too, your aunt could be arriving in any moment." Saki complied to her, he get off the sofa and waddled his way as quickly as he could to their bedroom.

Not long after, Saki was back with her phone in his hand. His other hand was grasping to the flannel. Just as Mikan was about to take the phone from him, it flashed on notifying that there was an incoming call. Taking it, she checked the caller ID.

"Who is it?" Saki asked curiously. "Aunt Hotaru?"

The brunette nodded in response. Accepting the call, she hand-gestured to Saki to get ready with his bag. "Hi, Hotaru, I'm here." Saki went to sit at the chair and began his attempt trying to put on the socks like he was told to by Mikan. He looked to be struggling a bit but never looked up at her asking for help. _'How stubborn of him,'_ she thought; at the same time listening to what Hotaru was saying on the other side of the phone.

"You're arriving in about two minutes?"

Mikan was smiling. His attempt was in vain.

"Uhuh, alright. Yeah, we're about ready. I just finished packing the leftover food we had earlier."

He succeeded one foot except it looked knotty and tangled making Mikan stifle a laugh.

"Saki? Mmhmm, yeahh I already told him to do so."

Upon hearing his name being mentioned, he looked up to his mother's face. Tilting his head to the other side, he looked inquiringly at Mikan.

"Your aunt told me to remind you to wear your socks. See?" she raised her brows at him.

The innocent face looked slightly annoyed and frustrated. He never muttered a word, though. Instead he chose to look back down, once again giving a go at the challenge of putting on the other pair of his socks. Mikan was still clutching the phone to her ear, listening to Hotaru who was probably—and hopefully so using the hands-free to make the call. Her eyes were still focused on her child who was clad in gray. Saki lasted for about another ten seconds before he finally looked up at her again.

His face looking totally upset as he mumbled sadly, "Mama, it's difficult." His lips trembled and eyes watering a bit.

Weak to the trick, Mikan sighed and sat down. "Okay Hotaru, drive safely. I'm gonna help _Chibi-kun_ here. He doesn't know how to put them on. Text me later when you've arrived." Ending the call, she gave her sole focus on her son. He was puffing his cheeks, possibly protesting her last statement to Hotaru. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. Here, let mama help. Don't sulk, okay?"

He crossed his small arms. "I am not sulking."

"So too," she replied, gently pulling off the tangled sock he put on his foot.

"Not so."

"So too."

Again, Saki huffed in protest, " _Iie_ , ma—"

"Now look down here," butted Mikan, trying to gain the little one's attention to his feet.

Saki looked down at his right foot which Mikan was slowly pulling the dark grey socks on. He looked at the process with rapt attention, as if it was the most interesting thing in the whole world at the moment.

As she finished pulling on the sock for him, she paused and looked at him, "See? That wasn't so difficult, right?" After he nodded to her, she continued, "Now, why don't you try the other one? Do it just like I showed you how to." She put the other pair into his hand.

After a few moments and with a little help from Mikan, he finally succeeded. He looked up with happiness at her face, waiting for her to say something. His mother tidied the socks a bit before smiling back sweetly at him.

"Good job, _Chibi-kun_."

The biggest toothy smile formed on his face and two small dimples popped on each side of his cheeks. Saki was rarely that generous showing his killer smiles yet today seemed to be one of those once in a blue moon moments. Mothers usually bragged about their children for the pride of it but if anyone ever looked at her son right now, they would surely believe Mikan if she told them how dangerously charming his looks were.

"Now stand up and let me put on this shirt for you. Aunt Hotaru's probably waiting outside, already," said Mikan as she took hold of the red flannel shirt that Saki squashed on the seat when he sat trying to put on the socks.

Doing as he was told to, he raised both of his arms to help Mikan put the shirt on him. Finished helping him, she patted the creases and stepped back after that. Trying to have a good look of her son, "Stand still." Looking at the result, her heart melted and she fell more in love with her son. "You are too adorable." Taking her phone, she opened the camera app. "Please look into the camera, _Chibi-kun_ , let mama snap a picture of you."

The little boy in question instead looked downwards, feeling shy and mildly annoyed at the same time having his picture taken. But still he relented, _'It's for mama, anyway.'_ His young mind told him.

"I was just looking through at the clothing store and they had a sale. So I thought to take a look if I could afford to buy anything for you," rattled Mikan as she took a few snaps, at the same time muttering to Saki to change his poses. "I was about to exit, feeling disappointed, until I saw this one and I instantly fell in love. It was a little pricey than I was planning to spend but I guess I was not wrong to buy it anyway." She finally finished her impromptu shooting. On her face was a smile plastered with full of adoration as she stared at her son, "It's totally worth it."

A ping sound came off.

It was her phone, a text message had arrived from Hotaru notifying Mikan she had arrived. **_I'm in the car at the usual parking spot._** Raising her brows at the text message, she informed to Saki, "It seems like your aunt had arrived. Go put on your backpack and let's go or she might get cranky."

Saki followed her instructions and went to the sofa to wear his small backpack after putting his sketchbook inside.

"Anything else?"

"Nope."

"Okay, let's go."

* * *

They were somehow awkwardly quiet in the car. Somehow no one bothered to speak up in the car, so the only sound to be heard was from the car's radio. And the radio was currently reporting off the traffic conditions through out Tokyo.

Mikan could not find herself to bring up a topic to discuss with Hotaru in the car. As usual, she sat at the back seat letting Saki sit at the front passenger seat beside the driver's seat which was occupied by Hotaru herself, driving. Saki, on the manwhile, was used to sitting at the front passenger seat beside Hotaru. Their seating arrangements had always been like that, she was fine to sit at the back of the car. She did not mind it, if it meant showing her son a better view the moving life outside the car.

Something was off but she was not sure why because somehow she was a little scared to talk about anything to her friend for fear of blurting something that was totally unnecessary after last night. _'Last night,'_ she thought and the flashback of last night replayed in her mind. The people there was totally nice to her and Saki. Even though it was clear that they were the only outsiders. She heard from Ruka that everyone that came was either close family or close acquaintances.

 _'Definitely does not belong in any of the two category,'_ she thought to herself.

Mindlessly thumbing the bag she had on her lap, her mind continued to wander aimlessly at the events last night. She had to cringe remembering how she fainted, _'Ouch, I need to fix that somehow,'_ her eyes giving Saki a side glance. He was sitting quietly, seeming to be focused on the road. _'Chibi-kun doesn't need a skittish mama,'_ her thought continued as she heaved a soft small sigh. Her eyes darted to the window beside her and she watched the passing cars as she was sitting behind the driver's seat.

Somehow, her mind moved her memory to how the night ended for her and Saki last night. Her cheeks flushed in slight red. The intense red stare that had somehow followed her throughout the day as if she was something very interesting. She swore she could feel that particular pair of eyes burning on her back. Although she knew that just about everyone besides Hotaru and Ruka were curious about her appearance with Saki but they never stared openly at her. They never stared too intensely at her, _'Or perhaps it's just me?'_ She then shook her head at her own thought, confident that was not the case and that the red stare was just too intense.

"It's not like I _like_ him or anything," unbeknownst to Mikan she had sighed the words instead of keeping the thoughts to herself.

The chibi of her looked at her from the front seat, "Mama, you called?"

All of her thoughts crashed as she peered back at her son, "Huh?"

Her small copy slightly widened his eyes, "You said something."

"Did I now?" and her cheeks flushed in red, almost caught at her straying thoughts.

At the front, Hotaru vaguely glanced at her best friend through the rearview mirror. Interested with the exchange between the mother and child.

"Oh, it was nothing, don't mind me, Chibi."

The chibi shrugged and looked back to the front, "Okay." Not long after, he changed his sitting position to face Hotaru.

The latter noticed the former looking at her, she gave him a slight glance and focused back to the road while saying, "What is it, child?" Her hands resting comfortably on the steering wheel of the car after she used the right hand brush away the bangs obstructing her view. To think that she already did her hair in a bun, she clicked her tongue silently, a little annoyed. She grew her hair longer to humour a certain _blondie_.

After taking one chewy gum that Hotaru always kept stock in the car, Saki hesitated slightly before opening his mouth, "Umm, mama said to ask you—can I see _him_ again?" He then plopped the cubed sugar into his mouth as he waited for her response.

The brunette sitting at the back sucked her own breathe. She totally forgot about that.

That definitely got Hotaru's full attention even if she looked mildly interested. She gave another glance to her best friend at the back who looked completely frozen. Giving her attention back to the road and the kid beside her. She certainly understood whom he was referring to, "Is that so, small man?" Her chest slightly hurting for the small one.

He nodded twice before proceeding to answer, "Hai. I asked mama. She said to ask _you_." The flavour of the sugar bursting in his mouth as he looked at his mother at the back, "Right, mama?" He cocked his head innocently and his eyes slightly brightening.

The sounds of pitter-patter insistent in her heart, "Yes, but like I said _Chibi_ , don't hope for much. He might be busy after all . . ." Her voice shaky. She hated it. She hated sounding like that. She knew she was not safe. She took a risk, she looked at the rear-view mirror at the front. It was a futile attempt, her best friend was looking at her through it. Her best friend might often put a blank face but Mikan knew better, that — was her calculating look.

"Well, how about it, Aunt Hotaru?" the boy asked, sounding a little forlorn.

The car came to rest, arriving at the red traffic light. Hotaru slowly reached out her hand to hold the small hand. Her heart ached for the innocent child, "I'll see what I can do, Chibi. _I promise._ " At the same time, her eyes were still affixed to Mikan's reflection on the mirror. Mikan was getting paler. The face of the person amongst those that Hotaru really cared about.

Mikan looked away in shame, somehow she knew what Hotaru was thinking about. Her confidence began wilting by bits. There was only one thing in her mind.

 _'She knows.'_

* * *

When they arrived at Hotaru's condominium, Saki had entered the hifi room as told by Hotaru. The house was empty as Ruka already left for work earlier. Hotaru had switched on the television for him and remembered to leave him with a cup of water for him to drink and a few snacks to nibble on. She made sure he was comfortable in the room before exiting the room to face her best friend.

Meanwhile, Mikan had went straight into the kitchen parlour to put away the bento box she had packed earlier before leaving her house. She pretended not to hear the nearing footsteps. Instead, after she finished she went to the sink to wash her hands very thoroughly. She told herself, she was just being extra clean and neat.

"How long are you going to pretend I'm not gonna talk about it with you."

Mikan froze. Her whole body felt tense and nervous.

Hotaru looked at Mikan's frozen frame. "I'm talking to you, Sakura Mikan."

Slowly and cautiously, the brunette twisted the water tap off. She hesitantly turned around to face Hotaru. Her face a mask of pretence that nothing was amiss. She looked directly at Hotaru before looking away to avoid the deep stare.

"Well?"

Panic engulfed her and she looked back at Hotaru. Her face no longer a mask, instead it was etched with an accusatory look. Perhaps it was an attempt to guard and defence on her part. "You never told me _whose_ house we were going to?!" her voice raised a little, not too high as she did not want her son to hear them.

The raven beauty controlled her temper that was slowly boiling, "Don't put the blame on me, Mikan. You knew perfectly well whose picnic we were going to."

"What do you mean?" she replied, a tad harsh.

Hotaru raised a brow, "Aunt Kaoru invited you herself that night at the supermarket."

Mikan bit her quivering lower lip, clearly upset. "B . . . but—"

"What but?"

"You never told me it was _his_ family's house," her voice so low and vulnerable.

The other girl narrowed her eyes at Mikan. "Who are you talking about, Mikan?"

Her face was most certainly red and flushed at the moment, "You know, _him_ . . ."

"No, I don't, Mikan," Hotaru answered a curt reply.

Mikan's chest heaved in realisation, shame and disbelief invading her. She slowly said with a whisper that was loud enough for both of them to hear, "You're gonna make this difficult for me, aren't you? You want me to say _his_ name." A drop of tear poured down from her eyes that were pooled for a while now.

She looked as her best friend only stood at the same spot unmoving with expecting looks on her face.

"You didn't tell me she was his mother; _Hyuuga Natsume_." She muttered as she slowly made her way to the tall stool on the kitchen counter. She was giving Hotaru her back shoulder as she sat down. "You never told me, Hotaru, you never did," her words sounding haunted as she looked solemnly at the marble surface.

It pained Hotaru to see her friend like that but she opened her mouth anyway, "Why do you think that it would ever cross my mind to tell you that the house belongs to the family of _my cousin_? My cousin, _Hyuuga Natsume_? You were never closely acquainted with him." She looked sadly at Mikan's figure, the one that she had cared for a lot. The one she poured her love for before she found the idiot Nogi. _'You baka, baka Mikan,'_ she thought.

"Well, you _should_ know," the replying voice sounded so weak and scared.

"Newsflash, Sakura Mikan, I don't."

The petite figure quickly turned around, accusation plastered all over her face, "You do—" But before she could finish her words, Hotaru had already cut off her words.

"I _don't_ , Mikan. I don't know a thing," Hotaru's voice sounded betrayed. She took a few steps closer to Hotaru. Then, not letting a chance for Mikan to reply, she continued, "I never knew. You never told me _anything_. For how long I've stayed with you, you never did mention a single thing to me." She was also tearing up, looking sadly at her best friend. She was hurting, thinking about Mikan's situation. "I tell you _everything_ , Mikan. How stupid Nogi can be sometimes. How my brother irks me most of the time. When I discover a new store that sells mean crab cake at reasonable price, _you're_ the first one I tell them about. And I will never admit this again in the future but I remember telling you how nervous I was to move in with Ruka. _I told you, Mikan._ " Hotaru wiped away the few tears that managed to slip away. "But did you tell me anything? _Nothing_ , Mikan. Not a single thing," her voice cracked.

Mikan's chest constricted. Her own tears streaming down her face.

Just when she thought Hotaru was done talking, she said something that killed her. "And I thought we're _best friends_?" That did it for Mikan, she broke down crying, her hands blocking her mouth as an endless stream of tears poured down her face.

"I am so sorry, Hotaru," she said feeling so ashamed of herself. She pulled her best friend in for a hug. Thanks to the height of the stool, she was able to bury her face to Hotaru's chest. Her tears continued on flowing, "So so sorry. _I was very afraid._ " Her voice hoarse and a whisper.

Hotaru returned the hug, her hand soothing Mikan's back and the other softly petting her friend's head in a comforting way, " _Baka_. You think I'm gonna leave you if you tell me? I was with you through all of that, I am not going away. I put up with all of your shit, I am not leaving before I get back enough from you. In fact, I'm _never_ leaving, I'll never get back enough." Her voice was soft as she comforted the crybaby in her arms. "If it wasn't for Saki for accidentally blurting it out when we watched the tv, I would never know. And don't you dare scold my nephew," her last words threatening.

The brunette looked up to her face and whined, "I would never blame him but Hotaru, I did it because I thought it was the best solution. I —"

Again, she was cut off by Hotaru with her sniffles, " _Baka_. Go ahead and have that stupid notion of yours."

The grown-up baby sobbed again, "Hotaruuuu." Her tears not ending any sooner.

In the end, she told everything to Hotaru everything about that one night.

* * *

Later that night, Mikan was about to sing her last song of the night. The crowd had already dwindled from about an hour and half ago. There were mostly the frequents and employees left in the restaurant. Among them, she noticed a familiar glasses and beanie man sitting at the bar. She smiled as their eyes made contact, _'Rei-san, he's been coming every night, since then.'_ He always come alone and no one seemed to recognise him which often surprised her. Over the period of time, they had somehow became close acquaintance as he always made sure to compliment her on performance before going home.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and talked using the microphone, "This is going to be the last song I'm singing tonight, it's something I recently wrote myself, so none of you might recognise the song. I do hope you still enjoy it though. This is kinda embarrassing but it's kinda about my life and I call the song _Story_." She looked at the back to glance at the musicians giving them a little nod with a smile.

As the music began, Mikan slowly tapped her foot to the rhythm of the song, feeling it. And she began singing alone to the song.

The people left in the restaurant let themselves be carried with the song she was singing. And in their head they make their own deciphers of the lyrics. Everyone could not deny but just as the title suggests, there was a story behind the song.

 _"For so long, I've kept it inside of me_  
 _Didn't have a place where I could let go_  
 _But then you came into my life and I_  
 _Found the strength to be myself again_  
 _There will be no sky too high"_

Behind the bar, Noda who was mixing a drink for the customer thought about it melancholy. He had an idea who Mikan was singing about. As he finished mixing the drinks, he handed it to the beanie customer who he could roughly figure out who he was. "Here's your drink, Beanie-san." That particular customer always stayed when Mikan was performing, seeming to be only interested with her and not the other entertainment their establishment had prepared. At first, he was alarmed and cautious about it but later, he calmed down after learning the man had no weird ideas. _'Plus, he knows Imai-boss couple, couldn't be that bad eh?'_

The man with beanie turned around with a smile, thanking him. "She's singing really beautifully tonight, huh?" He said looking at the brunette on stage. Noda smiled and nodded to the statement.

She was wearing a simple laced evening dress that reached her knees. It had a modest sweetheart neckline that did not show too much skin. The outfit was completed with a loose white cardigan that flowed to her thigh. Her hair was styled in half up half down and her feet clad in a pair of gold gladiator sandals.

 _"I'm not alone, you're by my side_  
 _I'm standing strong, you give me hope to carry on_  
 _You washed away my fears_  
 _Now I know I'm here because I have you near_  
 _You're not alone, I'm by your side_  
 _When you are down,_  
 _I'll be the one to make you smile_  
 _I'll wash away your tears_  
 _And the sun will shine its light on you and me"_

As Mikan was singing, two face that held a special spot in her heart conjured upon her mind. Her best friend and her son. After all that had happened long ago, her courage came from Hotaru who had convinced her to continue living on. She was the one who held out her hands for Mikan to hold on to when she fell and too weak to stand up on her own. She gave meaning to her life. She spurred Mikan that the baby inside her needed her. She still remembered when Hotaru told her back then and just that morning, how she was never leaving. Mikan tore up a little at the memory.

Back at the bar, Anna just exited the kitchen to the bar to listen along to the song. She sighed her heart thinking about her coworker's fate. She was standing by Noda and near to the beanie man as she softly said, "She's singing about _them_ , isn't she?"

"Sure is," came Noda's short reply as they enjoyed the song together.

 _"There are times you can't explain, you don't have to say_  
 _You don't even have to hide the pain that's deep inside_  
 _When you're lost and need a friend, you can just call on my name_  
 _You can count on me, I will be right here for you_  
 _For so long, you've been holding on_  
 _Didn't have a place where you could let go_  
 _Just take my hand and we'll find a way_  
 _Through the good and bad, we'll laugh and cry_  
 _Together we will find a way"_

* * *

At her home, Hotaru was watching the television that was showing Mikan singing live from the restaurant. It was the agreement she had set up with Shiki at the restaurant the night she had agreed to fill in for the dance. He was at first reluctant to do so, but after a little persuasion, he finally agreed with the arguments Hotaru had prepared. As she had said, it was going to be beneficial for the establishment anyway.

And true to her words, they were making money from the website Hotaru had created for them. Where some lives of the performances made would be shown. The website's traffic was slowly increasing with decent number of visits.

 _"'Cause you're the reason I feel alive_  
 _And there's nothing to — hold me down_  
 _You're the reason, I can spread my wings and fly  
_

 _We have our own story_  
 _We all have the power to make a change_  
 _So just believe it,_  
 _Believe it_  
 _And there'll be a brighter sky"_

She looked back at the screen, feeling her heart for the woman she cared a lot about. On her lap was the a child's head, the woman's son, and he was sleeping soundlessly. Probably tired from all the non-existent activities he did the whole day.

Suddenly he absent-mindedly murmured in his sleep, _"Mama, want to meet him . . . again."_

Her heart melted at what she heard him say. Slowly, she ruffled the child's head in affection, being careful not to wake them up. "I'll try, _chibi_ , I'll see what I can do." And her eyes went back to the woman singing on the stage in the screen of the television. There were soft applause being given to her. Hotaru's mind was working on something and she whispered to herself, "One day, you'll understand why I do all of _this_."

 **-end of chapter-**

* * *

Explanation and credits. **(ES)**

\- **_Story_** is a Japanese song (and to avoid going against FFn's r&r, I only put the English translation) actually, and totally not mine. It was sung by Ai, go check em out, it's a really nice song. :)  
\- I would like to apologise to **anon guest** that reviewed on **17th of August last year**. I did not mean to be impolite, pls forgive the past childish me. Hahaha. xD Re-reading them after so long, even I had to cringe myself. However, pls excuse myself as I don't think I'll edit out those words from the previous chapters because it kinda makes me look back at myself growing and expanding as a writer. I'd like to take the opportunity to apologise to the others who share the same thoughts. :)  
\- If any of you reading this is from my old readers, thank you for coming back. :)  
\- Also thanking everyone giving me suggestions on how to overcome my problem. Looked for alternatives, none worked sadly (apparently, I'm noob).  
\- Thank you for all the reviews, favs and follows, guys!

* * *

 **#writer`s_l^lla8y#**

 **Created ;** 2:57 pm, 02/06/18 (GMT+8)  
 **Finished ;** 2:55 pm, 03/06/18

It's been a time, but feedback is always welcomed. :)


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